Effect of strain on the expression of metallothionein-1 in mice.

<p>Expression of Mt-1, a stress gene expressed in the liver, as compared to the control gene, Actb, following amplification with quantitative real time PCR. (Mean ± SEM) Mt-1 data was transformed by raising all values to 0.4. A. At 0 hours, a significant difference between BALB/c mice and C57BL/6 mice was observed. Neither was significantly different from CD1 mice in terms of Mt-1 expression. B. At 4 hours, a significant difference was observed from baseline levels for all strains. At this time, the levels were slightly higher for all three strains than the levels observed at 0 hours. F = 3.06; d.f. = 6,00; *P = 0.0 Means with different superscripts within time points are significantly different.</p

Time effect of cytokine expression.

<p>Concentration of serum cytokines observed from quantitative ELISAs. Due to transformations of all data, graphs are shown with arbitrary units. (Mean ± SEM) A. A significant difference was observed in the expression of MIP-1β, a chemokine that attracts macrophages, over the three time points tested. MIP-1β data was transformed by raising all values to 0.4. B. A significant difference was observed in expression of IL-1β, a proinflammatory cytokine, in the three time points tested. IL-1B, unlike others tested, did not show as high variation over the three time points. IL-1β data was transformed by raising all values to 0.25. C. A significant difference was observed in the expression of TNF-α, a proinflammatory cytokine, over the three time points tested. TNF-α data was transformed by raising all values to 0.5. Means with different superscripts within cytokine bars are significantly different. P < 0.05.</p

Body temperature changes over time following LPS exposure.

<p>Following a non-lethal dosage of 5mg/kg of LPS, mice were tested over a 9-hour time period for changes in body temperature. (Mean ± SEM) These were plotted by sex and strain. A. A significant difference in temperature was observed between male and female BALB/c mice at 3 hours and at 4 hours following LPS injection. B. A significant difference in temperature was observed between male and female CD1 mice at 2 hours, but not at any other time points measured. C. A significant difference was observed between male and female C57BL/6 mice at 4 and 5 hours following LPS injection. *P < 0.05.</p

Effect of sex and strain on the expression of IL-6.

<p>Expression of serum IL-6, a proinflammatory cytokine, tested using quantitative ELISAs. (Mean ± SEM) IL-6 data was transformed by raising all values to 0.3. At 0 hours, a significant difference was observed, with any difference in sex or strain being dependent on the other variable. At 7 hours, a significant difference was observed, with any difference in sex or strain being dependent on the other variable. Differing letters indicate significance. P < 0.05.</p

Beta-fibrinogen expression over time in three strains.

<p>Expression of Fgb mRNA as compared to control Actb mRNA following amplification of both genes with quantitative real time PCR. (Mean ± SEM) Fgb data was transformed by raising all values to 0.2. A. There was a significant strain by time interaction (<i>F</i> = 5.55; d.f. = 6, 91; <i>P</i> < 0.0001), with post-hoc tests showing differences in expression levels between BALB/c and B6 mice at 7 hours, and between BL6 and both other strains at 4 hours B. There was also a sex by time interaction (<i>F</i> = 6.73; d.f. = 3, 91; <i>P</i> = 0.0004)), with higher expression levels in males compared with females at the 2 hour and especially the 7 hour time periods, but the reverse at the 4 hour time period. Means with different superscripts are significantly different. P < 0.05.</p