A portion of BCG is sustained within CD11c⁺ cells, both in acute and chronic granulomas.

<p>A, <i>Left</i>, Fluorescent images of CD11c-EYFP⁻ (left panels) and CD11c-EYFP⁺ cells (right panels) with dsRED BCG at three and ten weeks. Images magnified from 1000× images. DAPI nuclear stain (blue), dsRED BCG (red rods) and cytoplasmic CD11c-EYFP cells (green). <i>Right</i>, Average number of viable dsRED BCG rods per cell type (CD11c-EYFP+ or non-fluorescent) within the granuloma at three- and ten-weeks after infection. Data are represented as mean +/− SEM, <i>P<0.0001</i>. B, FACS plots generated from CD11c⁺ gate (left plot) and CD11b⁺CD11c⁻ gate (right plot). Boxed gate shows percentage of cells containing GFP-BCG. Gate placement was made from non-fluorescent-BCG infected CD11b+ and CD11c+ cells, <i>not shown</i>. Plots representative of 3- and 10-week time points with 3, 8 and 8 mice per group, respectively. C, Histograms generated from 10 week CD11c⁺ (1.17) and CD11b⁺CD11c⁻ (8.61) GFP BCG+ gates in (B).