Fig. 4

Comparison of infection outcomes between C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice. To evaluate whether using a more susceptible mouse strain would induce disease following strep-R MAP infection, the infection model was compared with BALB/c mice. A Either C57BL/6 or BALB/c mice were given 20 mg streptomycin followed by 2 consecutive doses of 10⁹ CFU strep-R MAP. Mice were sacrificed and assessed at 48-hours, 4-, 8-, 12-, and 24-weeks post-infection. B-D Strep-R MAP CFUs were compared between the 2 mice strains in the large intestine (B), small intestine (C), and MLNs (D). E Total MAP burden was pooled for the large intestine, small intestine, and MLNs of C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice and compared at 12- and 24-weeks post-infection (*p < 0.05) F Representative sections of the large intestine (H&E, original magnification x100), small intestine (x100), and MLNs (x40) from BALB/c mice 12-weeks post-MAP infection are shown. G. Fecal pellets were obtained from uninfected and strep-R MAP infected BALB/c mice 4-, 8-, 12-, and 24-weeks post-infection and processed. The amount of lipocalin-2 found in samples from both groups were evaluated by ELISA (*p < 0.05)