Enhancement of Macrophage Function by the Antimicrobial Peptide Sublancin Protects Mice from Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Figure 6

Efficacy of sublancin in the MRSA-induced sublethal infection model. (a) Mice were orally administered with sublancin at 0.3 mg/kg or 1.0 mg/kg once a day for 14 consecutive days before intraperitoneal inoculation of MRSA ATCC43300. The staphylococcal load in the peritoneal lavage was enumerated at 36 and 72 h of infection. (b) Sublancin (0.6 mg/kg or 1.2 mg/kg) was administered by gavage daily for 14 days before infection. Mice were analyzed for bacterial counts in the peritoneal lavage at 36 and 72 h of infection. (c) Peritoneal macrophages were collected 36 and 72 hours after infection for red fluorescent protein- (RFP-) labeled Escherichia coli phagocytosis assay. Data shown are and derived from 3 to 4 mice in each group. Significant differences with the control group were designated as and .

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