Figure 2
α2,6-linked sialic acid recognition does not affect infection of human middle ear epithelial cells (HMEECs). A. Percentage of HMEECs infected by wild-type Udorn/72 or horse serum resistant (HSR) Udorn/72 eight hours post-infection at an MOI of 1. Statistical significance was determined using a Mann–Whitney U-Test. Data represents mean ± SEM. B. HMEECs express α2,3- and α2,6-linked sialic acid. HMEECs were incubated with PBS containing 1% BSA (unstained), biotinylated MAL II (to detect α2,3-linked sialic acid), biotinylated SNA I (to detect α2,6-linked sialic acid) or biotinylated MAL II or SNA I following sialidase treatment (sialidase treated). Cells were subsequently stained with streptavidin-conjugated APC and measured by flow cytometry. The mean fluorescent intensity (MFI) is shown. Data is pooled from two independent experiments where each experiment was performed in duplicate. Data represents mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was determined using a Mann–Whitney U-Test and is denoted by one asterisk (p < 0.05).