Extended Data Fig. 6. Mature AQP4-specific T cells are not eliminated but expanded in the systemic immune compartment of AQP4-sufficient host mice.
(a-c) Foxp3+ Treg cells were depleted in Aqp4ΔΤΕC x DEREG mice through sequential intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of diphtheria toxin (DTx) or PBS as a negative control as indicated (both n = 6 biological replicates). Mice were concomitantly immunized with P41 in CFA plus PTx as indicated (a). Immunized mice were weighed (b) and scored (c) daily for 32 days. (d-f) The mature T cell repertoire of Aqp4ΔB mice was transferred into Tcra–/– mice, followed by immunization with full-length AQP4 (n = 10 mice). (d) Incidence and individual disease courses of immunized recipient mice. (e) Representative P41/I-Ab tetramer and Foxp3 stainings in CD4+ T cells isolated from secondary lymphoid tissues (SPL, spleen; dLN, draining lymph node) and the CNS of AQP4-immunized recipient mice with an EAE phenotype. (f) Quantification of the absolute number of P41/I-Ab reactive T cells and the fraction of Foxp3+ cells among antigen-specific T cells shown as mean ± SD. Symbols indicate biological replicates; zero-values are not depicted due to logarithmic scaling (n = 6 biological replicates). The diagram in (a) was created using Servier Medical Art under a Creative Commons licence CC BY 3.0.