Figure 4

Phagocytic activity of peritoneal macrophages from juvenile MMP8 null mice versus wild-type mice. (A) Pooled primary peritoneal macrophages of MMP8 null juvenile mice took up fewer fluorescent-labeled E. coli compared with wild-type pooled peritoneal macrophages. (B) Pooled primary macrophages from wild-type mice treated ex vivo with an MMP8 inhibitor took up fewer fluorescent-labeled E. coli compared with wild-type macrophages treated with the DMSO vehicle. Data are plotted as fold change relative to wild-type macrophages exposed to fluorescent bacteria in cell culture media. *p < 0.05 by 2-tailed sum rank test; 3 separate experiments.