Figure 1. IL-17 levels and IL-17+ cells are increased in estrogen-treated autoimmune lupus mice.
Splenic lymphocytes (5×106/ml) from estrogen-and placebo-treated lupus–prone male NZB/W mice were either (A) cultured in the presence of IL-6+TGFβ+antiCD3 antibodies for 72 hr and IL-17 levels in the culture supernatants were analyzed by ELISA or (B, C) were stimulated with IL-6+TGFβ+antiCD3 antibodies for 21 hrs followed by stimulation with PMA (100 ng/ml), ionomycin (2 µg/ml) and brefeldin A (1 µg/ml) for 3 h and stained for intracellular IL-17 expression. (B) Representative flow cytometry plots of IL-17+ cells (percentages indicated). (C) Mean percentage of IL-17+ cells. (A, C) Means ± SEM (estrogen = 2; placebo = 7); *** p<0.001, Tukey-Kramer multiple comparison test.