Fig. 2

Histopathological scores obtained from intestinal tissue inoculated with bacteria-free supernatants in the murine ligated ileal loop model and of cecal tissue from infected hamsters. a Ligated-ileal loop in 7–10 mice per group were inoculated with bacteria-free supernatants of the indicated genotypes. Four hours after treatment the animals were euthanized and intestinal tissues were collected and processed as described in the Methods section. Tissue alterations were scored on coded slides, using a histopathological score (HS) scale from 0 (absence of alterations) to 4 (severe) for three different effects: inflammation (neutrophil infiltration), edema, and epithelial damage. b Syrian Golden hamsters previously treated with clindamycin were orally inoculated with spores from the indicated strains. A chirurgical resection of the cecum of the deceased individuals was performed to record histopathological damage. These alterations were scored on coded slides, using a histopathological score (HS) scale that ranges from 0 (absence of alterations) to 4 (severe) for three different effects: inflammation (neutrophil infiltration), edema, and epithelial damage. Results are presented using a heatmap with a scale that ranges from red (100% of samples) to white (0% of samples). *p < 0.05 Kruskall-Wallis and Dunn’s multiple comparison test with Benjamini–Hochberg correction