Fig. 1

Gastrointestinal colonization densities and clinical conditions in C. jejuni infected secondary abiotic mice Nod2^−/− mice. Secondary wildtype (WT; white circles) and Nod2^−/− mice (black circles) were generated by broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment and perorally infected with C. jejuni strain 81-176 by gavage at day (d) 0 and d1. Pathogenic loads (CFU, colony forming units per gram) were assessed in a fecal samples over time postinfection as indicated and in b defined parts of the gastrointestinal tract at d7 p.i. by culture. Numbers of mice harboring C. jejuni out of the total number of analyzed animals are given in parentheses. c Clinical symptoms were assessed before and after infection applying a standardized clinical scoring system (see “Methods”). Medians (black bars), numbers of mice (in parentheses) and levels of significance (p-values) determined by Mann–Whitney U test are indicated. Data were pooled from at least three independent experiments