Cytokine and chemokine profiles in the lungs of M. intracellulare-infected mice.

C57BL/6 mice were infected with clinical isolates of M. intracellulare (5 × 10⁷ CFU) via the intranasal route. Mice were sacrificed at 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 12 and 39 weeks postinfection. Lungs were collected from uninfected control and M. intracellulare-infected mice, and 36 cytokine and chemokine levels were determined in lung homogenates of mice using multiplex ELISAs. IFN-α was under the limit of detection. Data were pooled from two independent experiments (uninfected mice n = 15, infected mice n = 6 mice per indicated time point). Data are expressed as the means ± SEM. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001. ns, not significant. P values for comparison between uninfected mice (Un) and other were indicated with asterisks sans connecting lines. For other comparisons, connecting lines used.

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