Fig. 1

Salmonella LPS induced acute thymic atrophy in chicks. Newly hatched chicks were injected i.p. with saline or Salmonella LPS and then sacrificed at defined time points to analyze thymus weight and index. a, b LPS treatment (50 mg/kg) reduced thymus weight (a) and index (b) in chicks (n = 4 ~ 6) at 36 and 72 hpt. Statistically significant differences between LPS and saline groups at each time point were determined using Student’s t-test. (c, d) LPS treatment decreased chick thymic weight (c) and index (d) in a dose-dependent manner (n = 3 ~ 5) at 36 hpt. Statistically significant differences between multiple LPS dose groups versus control group (0 mg/kg LPS) was performed with Bonferroni’s multiple comparisons test after one-way ANOVA test. e Sections of thymuses from LPS (50 mg/kg) or saline treated chicks were stained with hematoxylin and eosin to analyze changes of tissue structure. Light areas represent the medulla, and dark areas represent the cortex. Scale bars = 200 μm. All data are presented as means ± SD. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01