High Thymic Output of Effector CD4⁺ Cells May Lead to a Treg : T Effector Imbalance in the Periphery in NOD Mice

Figure 2

NOD and B6 CD4⁺ Tregs exhibit equivalent suppressive activity in vitro. (a) Percentages of CD4⁺CD25⁺ cells that express Foxp3⁺ in peripheral lymph nodes of female NOD and B6 mice at varying ages (-10). (b) Sample histograms of Foxp3 expression in CD4⁺CD25⁺ cells from peripheral lymph nodes of 12-week-old female B6 and NOD mice. (c) Lymphoid cells from NOD and B6 mice were collected at 12 weeks of age and CD4⁺CD25⁺ cells sorted. Varying numbers of CD4⁺CD25⁺ cells were cocultured with age-matched NOD CD4⁺CD25^- responder cells, irradiated splenocytes, and anti-CD3 in vitro. Proliferation was determined by detection of H³-thymidine uptake. denotes a significant difference from positive control at .

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