Deficient IFN Signaling by Myeloid Cells Leads to MAVS-Dependent Virus-Induced Sepsis
Figure 2
Viral infection in WNV-infected CD11c Cre+ Ifnarf/f, Cre− Ifnarf/f, and Ifnar−/− mice.
A–G. Viral burden in peripheral and CNS tissues after WNV infection. Eight- to ten-week-old mice were inoculated with 102 PFU of WNV by footpad injection. Levels of infectious virus in the (A) spleen, (B) liver, (C) lung, (D) kidney, (E) brain, (F) heart, and (G) serum were determined from samples harvested 48 hours post-infection using focus-forming assays. Data are shown as FFU per mg of tissue or per ml of serum for six to eight mice per time point. The dotted line represents the limit of sensitivity of the assay and error bars indicate standard deviation (SD). Asterisks indicate values that are statistically significant (***, P<0.0001) compared to Cre− Ifnarf/f mice. H. Blood was harvested 48 hours after WNV infection, and cells were stained with MAbs against CD11c, CD11b, CD3, CD8, CD4, GR-1, and CD19 followed by intracellular staining against the WNV E protein with a combination of two anti-WNV MAbs (WNV E16 and WNV E18). A representative contour plot is provided and shows intracellular WNV antigen levels (red arrows) in cells at 48 hours after inoculation. The percentage of WNV-infected cells for each cell population from each group is shown in the graphs immediately below.