Protection from Influenza A Virus challenge.

Balb/c mice were immunized according to Table 1. Five weeks after the second immunization, the mice were challenged with 250 PFU IAV (PR/8/34). The weight loss of each animal was monitored daily and the means and SEM (n = 5–6) are indicated for each group up to day 6 post challenge (A). At day 6, viral loads in lung homogenates (vRNA copies/ml) were measured by qRT-PCR. Each animal is represented by one dot and the means of each group are marked by the line. The dotted line indicates the detection limit (428 copies/ml) (B). (p<0.05): * vs. naïve; ^# vs. (F)^hi (1 way-ANOVA, Tukey post-test).