Figure 2.

CD96 provides a negative signal in autoimmune vasculitis

CD4⁺ T cells from patients with GCA were transfected with CD96-specific or control siRNA and adoptively transferred into chimeric NSG mice that had been engrafted with human arteries. Human artery grafts were explanted after 2 weeks and processed for RNA extraction and immunohistochemical analysis.

(A) Tissue sections of explanted arteries were stained with hematoxylin and eosin to assess the invasion of the arterial media by inflammatory cells.

(B) Density of the infiltration was quantified based on nuclear counts in H&E-stained images (n = 7).

(C and D) Tissues were stained for CD3 (red) to estimate the density of tissue infiltrating T cells. Cell numbers were enumerated.

(E and F) Immunostaining of microvessels in the arterial wall. Vascular lumina visualized as vWF⁺/αSMA⁺ structures. Enumeration of microvessels shown as bar graphs.

(G) Tissue transcriptomics for T cell receptor (TCR) and cytokines in grafts from mice injected with control or CD96 siRNA-transfected CD4⁺ T cells. RT-PCR data shown as heatmap.

Scale bars: 100 μm (A) and 20 μm (C and E). Mean ± SEM with individual values shown. (B and D) Two-tailed paired t test. (F) Two-tailed unpaired t test. (G) Two-tailed paired t test or Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test. ∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, n.s., not significant.