Bacteria mediated EGR1 induction in host epithelial cells. (A–D) EGR1 expression was evaluated using qPCR at 1, 2, 4, and 6 h after the addition of bacteria at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) = 100. The data is represented as fold change relative to uninfected. (E–H) EGR1 expression evaluated using Western blotting. The blots represent the 4 h time point during the course of infection. β-actin expression was used as a loading control. (I–L) Bacterial attachment to cells at different time points after bacterial inoculation (MOI = 100). Bacteria were diluted and plated for viable counts to determine colony forming units (CFU)/ml. (A,E,I) Pharyngeal FaDu cells were inoculated with different strains of N. meningitidis (Nm-A, Nm-B, Nm-C, Nm-W), P. aeruginosa (Pa), N. subflava (Ns), and N. lactamica. (B,F,J) FaDu cells were inoculated with S. pyogenes (Sp-M1, Sp-M3, Sp-M5, Sp-M6), S. aureus (Sa), L. reuteri (Lr), and L. salivarius (C, G, K) Gastric AGS cells were inoculated with H. pylori (Hp-J99, Hp-6721) and L. rhamnosus (Lrh). Cervical ME-180 cells were infected with N. gonorrhoeae (Ng) and L. crispatus (Lc). (D,H,L) Intestinal Caco-2 cells were inoculated with E. coli (Ec-B09, Ec-O11, Ec-DH5α), L. rhamnosus GG (Lrh-GG), Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (SE-3934) and S. enterica serovar Typhimurium (STM-42).