Figure 6

TLR3 KO mice are partially protected from poly(I:C)-induced impairment of lung function and AHR. Mice were exposed to three doses of 100 mg poly(I:C) (I.N.; 24 h apart). Baseline lung function and AHR to increasing doses of methacholine was measured by whole body plethysmography 24 hours following the last dose of poly(I:C). Data are the mean ± SEM of 6 mice. Prior to challenge, the groups given poly(I:C) had higher Penh values than those given PBS, p < 0.001. This difference was greater in the WT mice than in the KO mice, p = 0.047. Increasing methacholine challenges lead to higher mean penh values for the Poly I:C treated groups than for the PBS groups, p < 0.001, but there was not a statistically significant difference between the poly I:C-treated KO and WT groups p = 0.115. A repeated measure ANOVA was used to assess the change from pre-challenge penh values over increasing methacholine doses. ANOVA was used to compare the peak resistance levels at baseline among the groups.