Fig. 6.

Modulation of dendritic cell (DC) function by α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) derivatives. (a) Production of interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-10 in splenic DC subsets after a single dose of glycolipid. Female non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice (n = 3, 5–7-week-old) were injected intraperitoneally with 4 µg of glycolipid or vehicle and killed 6 or 24 h later. DCs were analysed by fluorescence activated cell sorter (FACS) after separation into three distinct populations (CD11C⁺CD8⁺ mDC, CD11C⁺CD8^– mDC, and CD11c^intSiglec H⁺ plasmacytoid DC). Once separated, the percentages of IL-12⁺ or IL-10⁺ DC in each subset were determined and plotted as the mean ± standard error of the mean. Asterisks (*) indicate statistical significance (P ≤ 0·05) greater than vehicle control values. Data from one of three reproducible experiments are shown. (b) PLN were harvested from NOD mice treated with vehicle or the various glycolipids in a multi-dose protocol, and lymphocyte suspensions were fluorescently stained for the CD8α, CD11c^hi and Sieglec H surface markers before analysis by flow cytometry. mDCs were gated in the CD11c^hiSiglecH^– cell subset, which was divided further into the CD8⁺ and CD8^– subsets. *Values significantly less than (P ≤ 0·05) vehicle control. Data are from one of two representative and reproducible experiments.