Fig. 5.

Antigen-specific T cell responses and serum antibody and cytokine levels in mice immunized with human PG aggrecan (hPG) or recombinant hG1 domain proteins (either with wild-type or those having a single (rhG1-ΔP70) or three (rhG1-3Δ) deleted T-cell epitopes). Animals and groups represent those shown in Fig. 3. (a) Antigen-specific IL-2 production and T cell proliferation of splenocytes of mice immunized with rhG1wt, rhG1ΔP70, or rhG1–3Δ, were measured in vitro using 50 µg/ml synthetic peptide or 10 µg/ml rhG1 protein as indicated. The results are shown as stimulation indices. Anti-human (hPG) and antimouse (mPG) antibodies (b), and pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-4 and IL-6 (c) were measured by ELISA in sera of immunized BALB/c mice at the end of experiment (on days 96–98).