Cytotoxic effector functions of T cells are not required for protective immunity against fatal Rickettsia typhi infection in a murine model of infection: Role of TH1 and TH17 cytokines in protection and pathology
Fig 1
BALB/c mice generate cytotoxic CD8+ cells that are sporadically reactivated.
BALB/c mice were infected with 1×106 sfu R. typhi. Control mice received PBS instead and were used as "day 0" control. Spleen cells were isolated and stained for CD8, KLRG1 and CD11a or restimulated with PMA/Ionomycin for 4h and stained for CD8 and intracellular IFNγ and Granzyme B. The dot plots show example stainings from day 7 post infection. Mice were analyzed for cytokine and Granzyme B expression on day 0, 7 and 15 (n = 6) and day 35 (n = 4). 3–4 mice were analyzed for KLRG1 and CD11a expression. Graphs show the percentage of KLRG1+, CD11a+, Granzyme B+ and IFNγ+ T cells among CD8+ T cells (y-axis) at indicated days post infection (x-axis). Graphs show combined results from 2 independent experiments. Statistical analysis was performed by One-way ANOVA (Kruskal Wallis test followed by Dunn´s post test). Asterisks indicate significant differences compared to day 0 (*p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001).