FIGURE 7.

c-Kit⁺CD151⁺CD41⁺cells are expanded in mice and humans with lupus. (A) FACS gating of c-Kit⁺ CD151⁺CD41⁺cells (MM)in Lin⁻ splenocytes of 16wk old SNF1 mice. Most of c-Kit⁺CD41⁺cells belong to CD117⁺CD151⁺cell population. (B) c-Kit⁺CD41⁺CD151⁺ (MM) cell numbers per spleen of lupus-prone (nine SNF1 and six B6.Sle) and normal (six B6) mice. (C–D) FACS Gating of MM cells in lupus patient’s (C) and normal subject’s (D) PBMNC. From CD3⁻CD19⁻CD14⁻CD16⁻ cells in PBMNC, CD117^{High +} CD41+ cells were gated first (boxes), and all of them were CD151+. CD151^High+ cells among CD117^{High +} CD41+ cells are shown boxed in right panels. (E) Numbers of MM cells per 1 × 10⁶ human PBMNC (10 lupus, and 6 normal subjects). CD117^{High +}CD41⁺ with all CD151⁺ cells (left) and with CD151^High+ cells (right). (F) B6.Sle splenocytes have augmented Th17 response to nucleosomes (left) like SNF1, and MM cells from B6.Sle, but not B6, induce Th17 response to nucleosomes in B6.Sle (center) as well as in B6 (right). (G) MM cells from B6.Sle induce ovalbumin peptide OVA_323–339 -specific Th17 response in OTII transgenic normal B6 background mice, without artificial polarizing conditions. APC types are designated by key and Th17 responses shown as bars. Mean ± s.e.m. from 3 independent experiments.