BCG vaccination induces an early Th1 cytokine profile in <i>M. ulcerans</i>-infected footpads.

<p>Mice were either non-immunized (•) or immunized with BCG (○) two months before challenge. All mice were infected in the footpad with 4 log₁₀ CFU of <i>M. ulcerans</i> 98–912. At different times post-infection, total RNA from the footpad was extracted and the presence of mRNA for IFN-ã (A), TNF (B), MIP2 (C) was assessed by real-time PCR. Data points represent the mean ± SEM (<i>n</i> = 5–8) for each time point. Statistical significance was calculated with Student's <i>t</i> test (*<i>p</i><0.05; **<i>p</i><0.01; ***<i>p</i><0.001).