Figure 3. Anti-CD154 dAbs inhibit donor-reactive T cell expansion in response to a minor antigen.

(A) Mice were adoptively transferred with 1.5×10⁶ of each CD45.2⁺ CD8⁺ OT-I and Thy1.1⁺ CD4⁺ OT-II T cells 2 days before transplantation. On day 0, mice were transplanted with mOVA SG and were treated with 10⁷ mOVA DST and/or 250 µg of MR-1, 7E1-G2b or CD154 dAbs where indicated. Mice were sacrificed at day 11. (B-D) Representative flow plots of CD8⁺ T cells (B) and the frequencies and absolute numbers of antigen-specific CD8⁺ and effector CD4⁺ T cells (C) in the draining lymph nodes at day 11. DST treatment alone moderately diminished the frequency of antigen-specific CD8⁺ T cells, but the addition of MR-1, 7E1-G2b or the CD154 dAbs resulted in a significant reduction in the frequencies of these cells in both organs. Data are representative of four independent experiments with a total of fourteen to sixteen mice per group. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.