Multiparametric comparative analysis of all pre- and postinfection related immune cell and clinical traits

Multiparametric analysis of 233 MA/My x C57L intercross and backcross mice segregating MHC class I Dk. Before murine (M)CMV infection, all mice were weighed and bled. Blood leukocytes were stained with fluorochrome-conjugated mAbs for CD3, CD19, and NK receptors and then analyzed by flow cytometry. NK cell subset light-scattering features, absolute number, frequency, and receptor display intensity were recorded as individual pre-infection traits. Afterward, the mice were infected with MCMV. Spleen and liver tissues were collected 3.5 d later for analysis of postinfection traits, including genomic genotypes and viral load. Spleen leukocytes from infected mice were analyzed as for pre-infection traits. The change in trait values were calculated from the pre- (blood) and post- (spleen) infection trait values. In total, 110 distinct traits were assessed. Multiparametric Pearson correlations were performed in the R (versions 2.15.0 and 2.15.2) computing environment using an automated correlation analysis followed with a strict Bonferroni correction for multiple tests. P-values were corrected for multiple comparisons using both the Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate and the Bonferroni Correction.