The Combination of MBP and BCG-Induced Dendritic Cell Maturation through TLR2/TLR4 Promotes Th1 Activation In Vitro and Vivo

Figure 4

Effect of the combination of MBP and BCG on the phenotypic maturation of DCs from TLR4^−/− mice. Splenic DCs from TLR4^−/− mice (1 × 10⁶ cells/mL) were cultured with MBP, BCG, or the combination of MBP and BCG for 48 h and were analyzed using flow cytometry. (a–c) DCs collected from the different groups were stained with the following antibodies: FITC-conjugated anti-CD80, PE-conjugated anti-CD86, and APC-conjugated anti-MHC class II. The percentage of positive cells is shown in a flow cytometry histogram. (e–g) The percentage of CD11c⁺ cells expressing each surface molecule is expressed as the mean ± standard deviation and is shown in a bar graph. Data are derived from three independent experiments. is considered to indicate statistically significant differences, compared with control group derived from WT mice. (d) The mRNA level of TLR4 in spleen tissue from TLR4^−/− mice or from WT mice was measured with RT-PCR.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

(g)