The tuft cell inflammasome does not protect from colon Shigella infection. (A–E) C57BL/6, Pou2f3^−/−, Nlrc4^−/−, and Pou2f3^−/−Nlrc4^−/− mice were pretreated with streptomycin orally and then infected with 5 × 10^7–8 CFUs of Shigella flexneri by oral gavage. Body weight was measured throughout the experiment (A), and 2 days after infection, tissues were harvested and analyzed for caecum length (B), colon length (C), CFUs (D), and fecal MPO (E). (F–I)Nlrc4^+/− mice were pretreated with oral gavage of streptomycin sulfate and then infected with 5 × 10⁶ CFUs of Shigella flexneri by oral gavage. 2 days after infection, the small intestine was harvested, and epithelial cells were isolated to be analyzed by flow cytometry. (F and G) (F) Representative flow plots of total tuft cells from naive and infected animals, which is enumerated in G. (H) Representative flow plots of CD45⁺ and CD45⁻ tuft cells, numbers are enumerated in I. Each data point represents one mouse, pooled data from multiple experiments (n = 6–11 [A–E], n = 11–12 [G], n = 7–8 [I]), and bars shown as median. Mann–Whitney test was performed to determine significance. *, P < 0.05, **, P < 0.01, ***, P < 0.001, ****, P < 0.0001.