Effect of Hfe functionality on Salmonella infection in vivo. C57BL/6 WT, Hfe^+/−, and Hfe^−/− mice were infected intraperitoneally with 500 CFU of WT S Typhimurium. Survival was monitored during an observation period of 10 days and compared between subgroups using the Wilcoxon (Gehan) test (A). P = .007 for Hfe^+/+ versus Hfe^+/−, P = .049 for Hfe^+/+ versus Hfe^−/−. Bacterial loads in at least 6 animals per group were determined in livers (B) and spleens (C) of randomly selected animals at days 2 and 4 after infection. Data were log-transformed and compared by ANOVA with Bonferroni correction. Values are depicted as lower quartile, median, and upper quartile (boxes), and minimum/maximum ranges and statistical significance are indicated.