Clostridium difficile infection aggravates colitis in interleukin 10-deficient mice

Figure 1 Clostridium difficile-induced colitis mouse model. A: Wild type (WT) and interleukin 10-deficient (IL-10^-/-) mice were pre-treated with an antibiotic cocktail for three days followed by an i.p. injection of clindamycin two days later, before being challenged with an oral administration of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) (cfu, colony forming units); B: The mice were divided into four groups (n = 10 each): a control and C. difficile challenge group each for WT and IL-10^-/- mice. The control groups underwent all pretreatment processes in parallel with the C. difficile challenge groups, but were not administered C. difficile.

Figure 2 Cytokine expression in bone marrow-derived dendritic cells after Clostridium difficile toxin A stimulation. The expression levels of interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-23 mRNAs were examined in BMDCs obtained from wild type (WT) and IL-10-deficient (IL-10^-/-) mice. Error bars indicate standard error of the mean; ^aP < 0.05 vs WT.

Figure 3 Body weight changes following Clostridium difficile challenge. Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) challenge induced a reduction in body weight that was greater in interleukin 10-deficient (IL-10^-/-) compared to wild type (WT) mice. Error bars indicate standard error of the mean.

Figure 4 Histopathologic examination of the colonic tissue (× 100). Hematoxylin and eosin staining of colon tissues from A: Wild type (WT); B: WT challenged with Clostridium difficile (C. difficile); C: Interleukin 10-deficient (IL-10^-/-); D: IL-10^-/- challenged with C. difficile; E: Quantification of colitis severity. Error bars indicate standard error of the mean; ^aP < 0.05 vs untreated.

Figure 5 Cytokine expression in Clostridium difficile colitis. The expression of interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-12, and IL-23 mRNAs in colonic tissues from A: Wild type (WT) control and Clostridium difficile (C. difficile)-challenged mice; B: IL-10-deficient (IL-10^-/-) control and C. difficile-challenged mice; C: Cytokine expression in the colonic tissues of WT and IL-10^-/- mice after induction of C. difficile colitis. Error bars indicate standard error of the mean; ^aP < 0.05 vs untreated; ^cP < 0.05 vs WT.