Appropriate Development of the Liver Treg Compartment Is Modulated by the Microbiota and Requires TGF-β and MyD88
Figure 5
The increased frequency of FoxP3+CD4+ cells in postnatal liver is blocked by treatment with antibiotics and depends on MyD88. (a) Pregnant C57Bl/6 females were treated continuously with a cocktail of oral antibiotics from two weeks of gestation until pups were 8-9 days of age, at which time spleen and liver NPC were isolated and FoxP3+CD4+ cells were measured ( mice). Control mice are untreated C57Bl/6 background pups of the same age ( mice). Statistical analyses used the nonparametric Mann-Whitney test. (b) Liver and spleen FoxP3+CD4+ cell frequency data are shown for 8- to 9-day-old littermate Myd88 +/+ mice, Myd88 +/− mice, and Myd88 −/− mice. to 13 mice per time point. Myd88 mice were on a mixed BALB/c × C57Bl/6 background, but littermates were used, minimizing background effects. Statistical analyses used the nonparametric Mann-Whitney test.
