Figure 2.
Role of CD4+ T cells in transgene rejection. C57BL/6, CD4-/- mice (a and b) and Sgca-/- and CD4-/- Sgca-/- mice (c and d) were injected i.m. with PBS or with 5 × 109 vg of rAAV1_CMV_SGCA-HY vector in the left TA and transgene expression, and the muscle integrity were analyzed over time. Levels of SGCA mRNA expression in the TA of normal (a) and dystrophic (c) mice were measured at different time points by quantitative RT-PCR and normalized to PO levels. The reference of 1.0 corresponds to SGCA mRNA levels known to be therapeutic in Sgca-/- mice. Data show the average value obtained in eight mice per condition. (b) Cross-sections of the injected C57BL/6 and CD4-/- TAs were analyzed by microscopy after HE staining. (d) Immunostaining of the α-sarcoglycan protein was performed on cryosections from Sgca-/- and CD4-Sgca-/- injected muscles. Arrows indicate SGCA-positive fibers. In (b and d), images are representative of one experiment out of three, with three mice per group (scale bar=150 μm). ***P<0.001.