CCL20 is expressed mainly during acute pneumococcal meningitis.

<p>(A) Increased CCL20 levels were found in mice brain homogenates during acute bacterial meningitis using ELISA. After initiation of antibiotic therapy (starting 24 h after infection), they decreased quickly to normal ((*) p<0.01 compared with uninfected controls). In uninfected control mice, (B, C) only a very subtle CCL20-positive staining was observed (white arrow). In contrast, in animals with pneumococcal meningitis, CCL20-positive staining was found in (D) epithel cells of the choroid plexus (black arrow) and (E) the subarachnoid inflammatory infiltrate (#). Number of animals: 6 h: n = 6, 24 h: n = 9, 30 h: n = 6, 48 h: n = 6, 72 h: n = 6, and 120 h: n = 7. Uninfected animals were used as controls (n = 11).