B hermsii infection results in an increased rate of platelet clearance. (A) B hermsii infection is not associated with diminished numbers of megakaryocytes. 129Sv/C57BL6 mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with 106B hermsii DAH. (i) On the indicated days after infection, platelet counts were determined by flow cytometry, and the mice were killed. (ii) Megakaryocytes in hematoxylin-eosin–stained bone marrow sections were visually counted using light microscopy (original magnification, × 400). Shown are the means ± SDs from 20 fields. (B) Accelerated clearance of platelets in B hermsii–infected mice. Numbers of biotinylated (i) and nonbiotinylated (ii) platelets in uninfected (▵) or B hermsii–infected (▴) mice at the indicated day after infection were determined by flow cytometry. Each curve represents the mean ± SD of 5 mice.
