Fig. 2

PDIMs do not differentially affect NF-kB or IRF-1 activation in human lymphatic endothelial cells, which were infected with Mtb WT, Mtb ΔPDIM or Mtb ΔPDIM::PDIM (all GFP tagged) for 5 h before any non-phagocytosed bacteria were washed away. The infection proceeded for 24 h before fixation. The samples were subject to immunofluorescence labelling using antibodies against p65 (NF-kB) or IRF-1. Nuclei were visualised with DAPI. a Representative images of infected cells. White asterisks show infected cells with nuclear translocation. Percentage of infected cells with NF-kB (b) or IRF-1 (c) nuclear localisation. At least 100 infected cells were counted and three independent replicates were performed. The mean is shown with error bars representing the standard error of the mean. Statistical significance was determined using one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post-test. GFP green fluorescent protein, Mtb Mycobacterium tuberculosis, ns not significant, PDIM phthiocerol dimycocerosate, WT wild type