Figure 3. IL-6 and microbiome facilitate autoreactivity in D1L3^KO mice.

(A-D) Autoreactivity in 1-year-old D1L3^KO mice treated with anti-IL-6R antibody or an isotype control for 10 weeks.

(A) Percent change in the titers of serum anti-dsDNA IgG and anti-Nuc Abs.

(B) Frequency of anti-dsDNA antibody-forming cells (AFCs) per 10⁶ splenocytes as determined by ELISpot.

(C) Frequencies of T cell subsets including activated CD62L⁻ CD44⁺ CD4⁺ T cells and CD62L⁻ CD44⁺ PSGL1^lo CD4⁺ ExFoTh cells in the spleen.

(D) Frequencies of Ly6C⁺ Ly6G⁺ neutrophils in the spleen.

(E-I) Three-month-old D1L3^KO mice were pre-bled, kept on drinking water with or without antibiotics (Abx) for 5 months and sacrificed.

(E) Levels of bacterial 16s rRNA copies per gram feces after 5 months of treatment.

(F) Percent change in the titers of serum anti-dsDNA IgG at the indicated time points after Abx treatment compared with untreated mice.

(H) Frequency of anti-dsDNA AFCs per 10⁶ splenocytes as determined by ELISpot.

(I) Fraction of CD11c⁺ CD11b⁺ Ly6c⁻ population among total PBMCs.

(J) The expression levels of Sca-1 on CD4⁺ T cells.

In all panels, symbols represent individual mice and bars indicate median. Statistical significance: ns, not significant; * p ≤ 0.05; ** p ≤ 0.01; ***p ≤ 0.001.