Fig. 3.

AIRE° CD8⁺CD28^low T cells fail to prevent colitis. RAG-2° hosts were i.v. injected with syngeneic CD4⁺CD45RB^high colitogenic T cells with or without the indicated CD8⁺CD28^low Treg (“wt”, AIRE^+/+; “AIRE°”, AIRE°^/°). (A) Evolution of weight of animals. Shown is the mean weight ± SD as a percentage of weight at the start of the experiment (*P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, Mann–Whitney test; n = 9 per group; three independent experiments). (B) Mice were euthanized 6 wk after injection of T cells. Microscopic sections of distal colon were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and examined for histological signs of colitis. Shown results are representative of those obtained in three independent experiments. (C) Colons of mice were examined as in B and clinical scores of colitis were attributed (n = 9 from three independent experiments).