Figure 4.

All-trans retinoic acid (AT-RA) treatment suppressed dendritic cell (DC) maturation on 3 days post-immunization (dpi). The DCs were isolated from draining lymph nodes (dLNs) and spleens of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mice treated or untreated with AT-RA on 3 dpi. Flow cytometry analysis was used to establish the DC phenotype using the following antibodies: phycoerythrin-conjugated anti-CD11c, FITC-conjugated anti-CD80, peridinin chlorophyll protein-conjugated anti-MHC-class II, and allophycocyanin-conjugated anti-CD86. Cells with DC phenotype in gate M2 were analysed. (a) Left panel, dot plot showed the gating strategy for DC analysis. Right panel, CD11c staining in G1 gated cells was shown. M1: CD11c^interm cells, M2: CD11c^high cells. (b) The percentage and total number of CD11c^high cells in dLNs and spleen of one immunized mice. (c) The effect of AT-RA on the maturation of CD11c^high DCs derived from dLNs. (d) The effect of AT-RA on the maturation of CD11c^high DCs derived from spleen. Data are expressed as mean ± SE and are representative of four independent experiments with eight mice per group. **P < 0·01, ***P < 0·001.