Fig. 1

dctn4 and akt3 mRNA expression levels and role of Akt3 in experimental pneumococcal meningitis. a Wild-type mice were infected with 1 × 10⁴ colony-forming units (CFU) of S. pneumoniae serotype 3, strain 6303 via intracisternal inoculation. mRNA levels were assessed after 6 and 30 h in brain tissue (n = 6 control mice and 12 infected mice). b Kaplan-Meier survival of mice following intracisternal injection with 1 × 10⁴ CFU of S. pneumoniae serotype 3, strain 6303. Survival was monitored two to four times a day over a 48 h period and data analysed using Log-rank test. c Clinical scores for each infected mouse group used in the survival study. Scores were compared using a nonlinear mixed effects model, assuming exponential growth (y = β₀ + e^(β1x)). d Bacterial counts in organs and plasma during S. pneumoniae meningitis. e Selected cytokine/chemokine levels in brain homogenates of infected mice. Each circle represents a single mouse and the bar indicates the group median expression. Significance was determined using the non-parametric test Mann-Whitney U