Fig. 1

The effect of DHA feeding on MCMV resistance in C57BL/6 J mice. A Schematic diagram of the experimental design. B Weight loss change in mice fed a DHA-supplemented or control diet at days 0, 3, 5, 7, 9, 14, and 21 after MCMV infection. n = 6, pooled data of 2 independent experiments. C The MCMV Ie-1 DNA level in the spleen (left) and liver (right) at days 3, 7, and 21 after MCMV infection was detected by qPCR, n = 9 at day 3; n = 7 at day 7; n = 6 at day 21. These data were pooled from 2–3 independent experiments. D The tissue/body weight ratio was calculated after weighing the spleen (left) and liver (right) tissues of mice fed a DHA-supplemented or control diet at days 3 and 7 following MCMV infection, n = 7 at day 3; n = 6 at day 7 postinfection. These are pooled data of 2 independent experiments. E H&E staining of the spleen and liver tissue at day 7 post MCMV infection. Histopathological quantification of inflammation in the spleen and liver of control and DHA-fed mice is shown in the lower panel. n = 5 pooled data of 2 independent experiments. Each symbol represents an individual mouse. All experiments were replicated at least 2 times. Error bars represent interquartile ranges *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01