Obesity Exacerbates the Cytokine Storm Elicited by Francisella tularensis Infection of Females and Is Associated with Increased Mortality

Figure 4

Elevated inflammatory mRNA levels in infected tissues of obese animals. Real-time RT-PCR analysis of mRNA of lean and obese tissue revealed elevated transcript levels of cytokine genes corresponding to cytokine storm cytokines. Data is presented as fold change (2-ΔΔCt) in expression in obese animals compared with lean animals (N=15-24).