Induction of experimental AIP
Experimental AIP was induced as previously described [14, 16, 20]. Briefly, MRL/MpJ mice (Japan SLC, Hamamatsu, Japan) were treated with an intraperitoneal (IP) injection of poly (I:C) (10 µg; InvivoGen, San Diego, CA) twice a week, for a total of 16 times to induce mild AIP [20]. Other groups of MRL/MpJ mice received an oral administration of K. pneumoniae(2 × 107/each mouse) and/or an IP injection of 10 µg of polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly (I:C)) twice a week, for a total of 16 times. Ethical permission for the animal experiments was obtained from the Review Boards of Kindai University Faculty of Medicine.