Figure 5. Effect of apoptotic cells on WT and Tim-1^−/− B cells and the development of EAE.

A) WT, Tim-1^Δmucin and Tim-1^−/− B cells from 2-4 month-old mice were incubated with CMFDA-labeled apoptotic WT thymocytes (AC) for 30 min, and analyzed by flow cytometry. WT and Tim-1^Δmucin B cells had comparable Tim-1 expression. Gating strategy for Tim-1 staining is shown in the left panel. n = 3-5 per group. B) WT and Tim-1^−/− B cells were cultured with unlabeled AC for 3 days, and IL-10 production in culture supernatants was then measured by ELISA. * P < 0.001; ns, not significant; n = 5. C) WT total CD4⁺ T cells (10 × 10⁶/mouse) were co-transferred together with either WT or Tim-1^−/− CD19⁺ B cells (20 × 10⁶) into Rag1^−/− mice. Apoptotic WT thymocytes (30 × 10⁶/mouse) were injected one day before immunization with MOG35-55/CFA for EAE induction. Mice (n = 8 per group) were scored daily for clinical signs of EAE. * P < 0.05.