Figure 6.

Antigen-specific CD4⁺ T-cell activation and cytokine production induced by bone-marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDC) with or without pre-exposure to recombinant cysteine protease inhibitor from Heligmosomoides polygyrus (rHp-CPI). (a) Proliferation response of CD4⁺ T cells co-cultured with BMDC with our without treatment of rHp-CPI. Enriched CD11c⁺ BMDC were incubated with rHp-CPIor in medium and treated by mitomycin. After washing, BMDC were co-cultured with ovalbumin (OVA) -specific CD4⁺ T cells for 72 hr. Cell proliferation was determined by [³H]thymidine incorporation. (b) Cytokine secretion by CD4⁺ T cells co-cultured with BMDC. Enriched CD11c⁺ BMDC were treated and co-cultured with CD4⁺ T cells as described above and cytokine levels in supernatants were determined by ELISA. Results are shown as means ± SD of triplicate samples from one of two experiments. Statistically significant differences, *P < 0·05 and **P < 0·01, are indicated.