Epigenetically Mediated Pathogenic Effects of Phenanthrene on Regulatory T Cells

Figure 4

Phe induces conversion of Treg to Th2 Teff. Isolated Tregs were treated with 300 nM Phe (black bars), TCDD (light grey), FICZ (dark grey), or diluent (white bars) for 0 to 7 days and analyzed for cytokine production by immunostaining and flow cytometry. MFIs (×10³) are represented on the 𝑦 axes. Th2 Teff phenotype was identified by decreased (a) TGF-β and (b) IL-10 production and increased IL-4 (c), pSTAT6 (d), GATA-3 (e), and IL-13 (f), and Th17 phenotype was examined by IL-17 (g) and ROR-γ-T (h) production. Representative flow cytometry plots of IL-4+ or IL-17+ T cell populations at each time point for Treg treated with Phe (i) or TCDD (j). ^∗𝑃<0.05; error bars show SEM.

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