Figure 1. Tc Muc inhibits CD4⁺ T cell proliferation.

(A) Purified CD4⁺ T cells from naïve spleens were stimulated with pre-coated anti-CD3 for 72 hr, in the presence or absence of increasing concentrations of Tc Muc (10, 20 and 50 µg/mL). Proliferation was measured 72 h after stimulation by [³H]thymidine incorporation. (B) The inhibition of proliferation by Tc mucin was not observed when control mucin derived from bovine submaxillary glands was used, nor was it reverted by addition of exogenous IL-2 when naïve splenic purified CD4⁺ T cells were stimulated with pre-coated anti-CD3 for 72 hr. Results are the means ±SE of triplicate cultures of three different experiments. *Differences between Tc mucin treatment versus anti-CD3 stimulated positive control are significant (P≤0.05).