Fig. 4

Aprepitant treatment prevents B. burgdorferi-induced increases in CCL2, CXCL13, IL-17A, and IL-6 mRNA expression in the spinal cord of NHPs. Rhesus macaques were uninfected (n = 5 animals) or infected intrathecally with B. burgdorferi (Bb, 1 × 10⁸ bacteria; n = 15) and were untreated (n = 7) or treated with aprepitant (Ap, n = 8) for 2 (a–c, e) or 4 (d) weeks. The level of expression of mRNA encoding CCL2 (a), CXCL13 (b), IL-17A (c, e), and IL-6 (d) in the spinal cord cervical (a–d) and thoracic (e) regions was determined by qPCR. Data is expressed as the mean ± SD and asterisks indicate statistically significant differences between the untreated and treated infected animal groups (p < 0.05)