FIG 4.

TNF-α-producing T cells were increased in the absence of IFN-αR signaling during IOE infection. WT and Ifnar^−/− mice were infected with IOE, and TNF-α was measured by intracellular staining at day 9 postinfection. (A) Representative flow cytometric plots of intracellular staining of TNF-α in splenic CD4 and CD8 T cells (CD3⁺) are shown. The numbers (means ± standard deviation [SD]) above the square gates represent the percentage of TNF-α⁺ cells among all CD4 or CD8 T cells. (B) Absolute numbers of TNF-α⁺ CD4 T cells and CD8 T cells are shown. Asterisks indicate a significant difference compared to the counterpart mock controls (P < 0.05). Number symbols (#) indicate a significant difference between WT and Ifnar^−/− mice (P < 0.05). At least four animals were used for each group.