Fig. 4.

Alterations of the mucus layer composition in T1D subjects correlates with intestinal immune dysregulation. Single cell suspensions isolated from intestinal biopsies of T1D patients and healthy controls were FACS analyzed. Data are expressed as percentages of different T cell subsets out of total CD3⁺CD4⁺ T cells. We compared Th1 (CD3⁺CD4⁺IFN-γ⁺), Th17 (CD3⁺CD4⁺IL-17⁺), TNF-α⁺ (CD3⁺CD4⁺TNF-α⁺), Th22 (CD3⁺CD4⁺IL-22⁺), Tr1 (CD3⁺CD4⁺ IL-10⁺), and Th2 (CD3⁺CD4⁺IL-4⁺) cells in the intestine of T1D subjects compared to healthy controls. In the intestinal mucosa of T1D patients we detected an increased of effector INF-γ⁺ Th1, IL-17⁺ Th17, and TNF-α⁺ T cells while IL-4⁺ Th2 cells were reduced. All data are expressed as means ± SD. ∗p ≤ 0.05; ∗∗p ≤ 0.01; ∗∗∗p ≤ 0.005 by Mann–Whitney U test.