Figure 2.

Deletion of AhR in Rorc-expressing cells lessens I3C effectiveness in minimizing DSS-induced colitis severity. (A) DSS colitis was induced in male and female C57BL/6 mice (8-10 weeks) as described in detail in Material and Methods, and the efficacy of treatment with I3C was tested AhR^ΔRorc and LM control mice divided in the following groups: LM Vehicle (n=6), LM I3C (n=6), LM DSS+Vehicle (n=6), LM DSS+I3C (n=6), AhR^ΔRorc DSS+Vehicle (n=8), and AhR^ΔRorc DSS+I3C (n=8). Experimental groups included equal number of female and male mice. Illustration created with Biorender. Disease parameters assessed included percent weight loss (B) colon length (C), along with colonoscopy scores (n=4 mice per group; equal number female and male) (D) and representative colonoscopy images (E). Blood panel analysis was assessed with Vetscan for WBCs (F), lymphocytes (G), monocytes (H), and neutrophils (I). For dot plots, significance was determined using one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. For weight data over time, two-way ANOVA and Dunnett’s multiple comparisons test was used to determine significance (** p<0.01, ***p<0.005, ****p<0.001).