HRB-Mertk^-/- mice have greater clearance of S. pneumoniae 24 hours post inoculation.

Bacterial clearance was assessed in HRB-Mertk^-/- and wild type male and female mice 24 hours post inoculation. The number of inoculated bacteria was based on body weight (2.20 ± 0.32x10⁷ CFU/mL). The (A) number of bacteria per left lung homogenate and the (B) ratio of recovered to instilled bacteria were determined, n =  9-22 per group. In a separate experiment, the (C) location of viable bacteria within the lung was determined by plating serial dilutions of specific lung fractions (n =  4-5 per group). Data represent mean ±  SEM. Significant differences determined by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s multiple comparison, ★p <  0.05.