Figure 6.

Depletion of macrophages results in a decrease in the Th1 immune response and an increase in the Th2 immune response in NOD mice. Splenic T cells were isolated from three mice (15 wk of age) from each group. Reverse transcriptase PCR analysis for cytokine gene expression was performed using primers specific for IL-2, IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-10 (A) and IL-12Rβ1 and IL-12Rβ2 (B). Primers for HPRT were used as standards. M, 100-bp ladder; 1, amplified product from splenic T cells of PBS-treated NOD mice; 2, amplified product from splenic T cells of lip-Cl₂MDP– treated NOD mice. Representative data for three independent experiments are shown. For the measurement of cytokine secretion from splenic T cell cultures, splenic T cells were isolated from lip-Cl₂MDP– and PBS-treated NOD mice (n = 3 per group, 15 wk of age), and activated with anti-CD3 Ab (10 μg/ml) for 2 d (C) or with irradiated NOD islets for 3 d (D). The production of cytokine levels was determined by ELISA. Values are shown as mean ± SD of three independent experiments. *P < 0.05 compared with PBS-treated control group.