Figure 5.

The intensity of the αβTCR⁺ IL-17⁺ IRBP-specific T-cell response is markedly influenced by the percentage of γδ T cells in the responder T cells. (A, B) Two representative assays showed that a modest percentage of γδ T cells in the responder T cells was associated with high numbers of αβTCR⁺ IL-17⁺ T cells, while a higher percentage was associated with a weaker expansion of IL-17⁺ αβTCR⁺ T cells. (C) The addition of a small percentage (2%) of γδ T cells to γδ-deficient responder T cells promotes the generation of αβTCR⁺ IL-17⁺ T cells, whereas the addition of a higher percentage (10%) reverses the promoting effect of γδ T cells. Responder αβTCR⁺ IRBP-specific T cells were prepared from IRBP-immunized γδTCRδ^−/− mice, after which 3 × 10⁶ total responder T cells were stimulated in 12-well plates with immunizing antigen (10 ng/mL) and syngeneic APCs, with or without the addition of 2% or 10% of γδ T cells isolated from immunized B6 mice. Intracellular staining and enumeration of IL17⁺ T cells were performed as described. Results shown are representative of those from three experiments.