Mosquito saliva alters human leukocyte populations in hu-NSG mice.

<p>Hu-NSG mice were each bitten by four mosquitoes on a rear footpad. Unbitten mice were used as controls. At 6 hours post-bite, 24 hours post-bite, or 7 days post-bite, mice were euthanized and indicated tissues were collected. Immune cell populations were assessed via flow cytometry. Graphs show mean cell counts of bitten (n = 12) and control groups (n = 12) (with outliers removed) as the number of cells per tissue type. Error bars represent 1 SEM. T-tests were performed using GraphPad Prism. Multiple comparisons were corrected for using the Holm-Sidak method, which increased the significance threshold to p < 0.01. #, p<0.1; ##, p<0.05; *, p<0.01; **p<0.005. Abbreviations: NK = Natural Killer, Mϕ = Macrophage; DC = Dendritic Cell. Cell markers used to define cell populations: Hematopoietic Cells, CD45+; T Cells, CD45+CD3+; NK Cells, CD45+CD3-CD56+; B Cells, CD45+CD3-CD19+; Monocytes/MΦs, CD45+CD3-CD14+; Neutrophils, CD45+CD3-CD66b+; Myeloid Cells, CD45+CD3-CD11c+; Other, CD45+ but negative for all other markers examined.