FIGURE 2.

Lin⁻c-Kit⁺_pure cells express Th17-inducing cytokines and are equipped with APC machinery. (A–B) Lin⁻c-Kit⁺ _pure cells expressed mRNA for Th17 inducing cytokines on LPS stimulation (A) or on pulsing with nucleosomes (B). Note: Although levels of IL-6 and IL-18 mRNAs appear to be low, to accommodate all in the scale; the actual increases at 6hr time point were 27 fold (P = 0.000002) and 9 fold (P = 0.009) by LPS, and 10 fold (P = 0.00023) and 5 fold (P = 0.0015) by nucleosome pulse, respectively. (C) Lin⁻c-Kit⁺_pure cells fed with nucleosomes were separated from co-cultured T cells by transwell membranes in IL-17 ELISPOT plates and the T cells’ responses are shown. (D–E) Lin⁻c-Kit⁺_pure cells express MHC class II and CD86 (D), and their ability to induce Th17 response to nucleosomes was blocked by anti-MHC class II antibodies (E). (F) Lin⁻c-Kit⁺_pure cells efficiently process ovalbumin (DQ-OVA). (G) Representative histograms of CFSE-labeled apoptotic cells engulfed (engulfment was confirmed by microscopy—Methods; similar to Supplemental Fig. 2, also see Fig. 4B). ▼ indicates apoptotic cell engulfed by CD11b⁺ (left panel) or Lin⁻c-Kit⁺_pure cells (right panel). (H) % of apoptotic cell engulfed by cell subsets in FACS analysis. Mean ± s.e.m. of 5 separate experiments.