IL-17 plays a critical role in intestinal inflammation in TGF-βRIIDN mice.
A, wild type or TGF-βRIIDN animals were bled at the indicated ages, and inflammatory cytokines were measured by multiplex assays. A representative experiment is shown of three independent experiments with a total of 18 animals per group. B, animals were injected with anti-IL-17 antibodies or control Ig as described under “Materials and Methods.” Intestines were harvested, fixed in paraformaldehyde, and sectioned on 5-μm glass slides using cryo-sectioning. Sections were stained with H&E. Note that anti-IL-17 antibodies dramatically abrogate inflammation in the intestine. A representative experiment is shown from 30 slides prepared from six animals. C, quantitation of IBD. IBD was quantified from 30 slides of six animals in a blinded fashion. Scores presented are the mean of all individual scores. D, cytokines produced by CD4+ T cells derived from wild type or TGF-βRIIDN mice activated on plate-bound anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 antibodies. E, cytokines produced by Th cells that differentiated from CD4+ T cells from wild type or TGF-βRIIDN animals and were subjected to Th1, Th2, and Th17 differentiation conditions.