Fig. 5.

Osteoclasts augment the proliferation of activated γδ T cells and support T cell survival. (A) Representative histograms showing the effects of osteoclasts (OC) on γδ T cell proliferation in the absence or presence of IL-2 (left panels); CD4⁺ T cell proliferation in the absence or presence of IL-2 (right panels). γδ and CD4⁺ T cells were labelled with 1 μM CFSE dye prior to their incubation with autologous osteoclasts for 5 days. γδ T cells and CD4⁺ T cells were harvested and their proliferation was assessed based on dilution of CFSE fluorescence using flow cytometric analysis. Data shown are from one experiment and are representative of three independent experiments, performed in duplicate, from different donors. (B) γδ and CD4⁺ T cells were cultured alone or co-cultured with autologous osteoclasts (at a T cell:OC ratio of 5:1) for 5 days. Following this period, γδ T cells and CD4⁺ T cells were harvested and cell viability assessed as detailed in Section 2. Data shown are the mean + SEM from three independent experiments, performed in duplicate, from different donors (n = 3; ***p < 0.001). (C) Representative contour plots showing viability of T cells alone (left column) or in co-culture with osteoclasts (right column).