Deletion of a single <i>SODB1</i> allele impairs <i>L</i>. <i>major</i>-induced lesion development and inflammation in mice.

Eight week-old WT C57BL/6 mice were inoculated on the dorsal surface subcutaneously in the right hind foot with 104 WT or SODB1/Δsodb1 L. major purified metacyclic promastigotes. (A) Lesion development in the inoculated foot was measured over time by digital calipers and is presented as the % of initial foot area. Each data point represents the mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM) of 5 mice per group. Data are representative of 4 independent experiments. (B) At 14 and 28 dpi, hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections were prepared from paraffin-embedded foot tissues of uninfected mice (mock), and mice infected with WT or SODB1/Δsodb1 L. major metacyclic promastigotes. Images shown are of the region of highest inflammation within the tissue section. Images are representative of two independent experiments with 3–5 mice per group (n = 8 mice/group total). (C-E) Tissue sections were scored as described in the methods for the overall size (extent) of the inflammatory lesion (C), the density of inflammatory cells observed in the tissue (D), and total inflammation as a function of both the extent and density of inflammation. Data represent the mean ± SEM (E). *P P P A and C-E).