Prolactin Increases the Frequency of Follicular T Helper Cells with Enhanced IL21 Secretion and OX40 Expression in Lupus-Prone MRL/lpr Mice

Figure 1

T_FH cells increase in mice that develop lupus. In 9- and 18-week-old mice of the C57BL/6 and MRL/lpr strains, the following were determined: (a) concentration of anti-dsDNA antibodies by ELISA and (b) levels of proteinuria using a test strip. (c) Demonstration of the gating strategy for the flow cytometry analysis of T_FH cells. Doublets were excluded by gating on FSC-H×FSC-A lymphocytes which were identified on the basis of their scatter properties (FSC-A×SSC-A plot), and live cells were gated in the Ghost Red⁻. The gate of CD4⁺ T cells was selected. The CXCR5⁺PD1⁺ or CXCR5⁺BCL6⁺ population represents T_FH cells. (d) Percentage and (e) absolute number of T_FH cells. Each determination was made in eight mice. Pooled data are presented as the mean ± SD; using ANOVA. Pearson’s correlation between absolute number of T_FH cells and (f) anti-dsDNA antibody concentration and (g) age.

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