Preclinical and clinical evidence of the association of colibactin-producing Escherichia coli with anxiety and depression in colon cancer

Figure 3 Chronic colibactin-producing Escherichia coli infection is associated with the induction of microinflammation. A: Colonization of wild-type (WT) infected mice (n = 12) in the gastrointestinal tract followed by counting the fecal colony form units of colibactin-producing Escherichia coli (11G5 strain) at different time points. B and C: Colonic low-grade inflammation was assessed by measuring fecal lipocalin-2 levels at the peak of infection (7 DPI) and 15 DPI [WT control, n = 11 (stools could not be collected or analyzed for one mouse); WT infected mice, n = 12]. The white circles represent WT control mice, while the black circles represent WT infected mice. Statistical analysis: Student’s t test: ^aP < 0.05. CFU: Colony form unit.