Fig. 8.

Adoptive transfer of CD8a− DCs from GM-CSF-treated SCID mice expands Foxp3+ Tregs and suppresses thyroiditis: C3Smn.CD17-Prkdc^scid/J mice (5 mice per group) were treated with GM-CSF or PBS for five consecutive days starting on days 1 and 15. Purified CD8a− DCs (2 × 10⁶) were transferred via tail vein into 7-week-old naive wild-type CBA/J mice (5 mice per group). These mice were immunized with mTg emulsified in CFA 3 and 17 days after the adoptive transfer. (A) Forty days after transfer, mice were sacrificed, thyroids removed and fixed in formalin. Paraffin-embedded sections were prepared and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Representative photomicrographs of hematoxylin and eosin-stained thyroid sections from different treatment groups are shown. Severity of thyroid lymphocytic infiltration, as described under Materials and methods was used as a marker of disease severity. Mean cellular infiltration index for different groups is shown in the bar graph (C = Control, G = GM-CSF treated). (B) CD4+ cells from spleen and thyroid-draining lymph nodes (DLN) of these mice were examined for Foxp3 and IL-10 expression. Representative scatterplots (upper panels) and mean ± SD of percentage values of Foxp3+CD25+ and Foxp3+ IL-10+ CD4+ T cells from 5 mice per group (lower panel) are shown. T-test was used to determine P values and assess significance. ** P < 0.01.