Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase-Derived Epitopes with Specific Domains Expand CD4+CD25+ Regulatory T Cells
Figure 1
In vitro expansion of CD4+CD25+ Foxp3+ T cells by peptide epitope stimulation.
Splenic lymphocytes were isolated from one NOD mice (total number of mice was 6) and cultured with different peptide epitopes (50 ng/ml) for 7-10 d. Cells were collected and analysed by flow cytometry. (a) The percentages of CD25+Foxp3+ within CD4+cells were presented. (b) Total number of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells in each group after expansion. Data collected from three independent experiments are shown. (c) Expression of Treg-related phenotypes (CTLA-4, GITR, ICOS, LAG-3) in CD4 T cells from each group. As controls, OVA (50 ng/ml) stimulation could not expand CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells and up-regulate the expression of Treg-related molecules (data not shown). Data are shown as means±SD, n = 5–6 per group. *, P<0.05 compared with controls.