β-GalCer (C12) reduces secretion of IL-4 and IFN-γ induced by α-GalCer (C26) in NZB/W and C57BL/6 mice. (A) top row of panels, show the mean serum concentrations of IL-4 and IFN-γ 2 and 24 hours respectively in C57BL/6 mice after a single intraperitoneal injection of 0.1μg α-GalCer (C26) alone (α), a single injection of 50 μg β-GalCer (C12) alone, or an injection of 50μg β-GalCer (C12) followed by an injection 0.1μg α-GalCer (C26) 4 hours later. Untreated control NZB/W mice are shown also. Second row of panels show mean concentrations after a single intraperitoneal injection of 0.1μg α-GalCer,a single oral dose of 800μg β-GalCer, or after an oral dose at 800μg β-GalCer followed by an injection of α-GalCer 4 hours later. Third row of panels show mean concentrations after a single injection of 0.1μg α-GalCer, after 3 intraperitoneal injections of 50 μg β-GalCer,(48 hour intervals between injections) or after 3 injections of 50 μg β-GalCer followed 4 hours later by an injection of 0.1 μg α-GalCer. Bottom row of panels show mean concentrations after a single intraperitoneal injection of 0.1μg α-GalCer or after 2 injections of 0.1 μg α-GalCer separated by 4 hours. (B) shows the same analysis of mean serum concentrations of IL-4 and IFN-γ in NZB/W mice. There were 4 to 6 mice in each group. Note reduced scale of concentrations for IL-4 for NZB/W mice. ND- not detectable.