Figure 1.

 Effects of cytosin-guanosin containing oligodeoxynucleotide (CpG-ODN) treatment of donor animals in the SCID transfer model of colitis on colitis development. Donor animals were treated with either CpG-ODN or GpG-ODN (each 10 µg/day over five days) or left untreated, and CD4⁺CD62L⁺ cells were transferred to SCID recipients. As a negative control, SCID mice were injected with phosphate buffered saline (PBS). (A) Weight change after transfer. (B) Histological score in the different groups was examined at the end of the experiments (eight and 12 weeks after transfer). (C) Representative colonic haematoxylin-eosin sections of non-transferred mice and mice transferred with CD4⁺CD62L⁺ cells from CpG-ODN or GpG-ODN treated (control) or untreated donors (control) are shown (magnification 50-fold). (D) Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) deficient or wild-type (Wt) littermate controls were treated with CpG-ODN (10 µg/day over five days), CD4⁺CD62L⁺ cells were transferred to SCID recipients, and the histological score was examined at the end of the experiment. Data presented in (A–C) were derived from 5–8 mice per group and are representative of five independent experiments. Values are mean (SEM). *Significantly different from both groups transferred with CD4⁺CD62L⁺ cells from either GpG-ODN or untreated donor mice. Data presented in (B) (12 week data) and (D) were derived from 5–8 mice per group and are representative of two independent experiments. Values are mean (SEM). *Significantly different.