Fig 2. Upregulation of HIF-1α in the spleen restricts CD8⁺ T cell expansion.

(A-B) Mice were infected with 2x10⁷ amastigotes intravenously and euthanized at various time points after infection. HIF-1α expression in splenocytes was assessed by real-time PCR (A) and immunoblot analysis (B). (C-F) 2x10⁴ OT-I CD8⁺ T cells were adoptively transferred into recipient mice a day prior to infection with ovalbumin-transgenic (PINK) L. donovani amastigotes. (C) Graphs represent the average number of OT-I CD8⁺ T cells found in the spleen from Hif1a ^flox/flox and Hif1a ^+/- mice at d7 and d14 p.i.. (D) Percentage of OT-I CD8⁺ T cells at d7 and d14 p.i.. (E) Percentage of gated OT-I CD8⁺ expressing CD62L^lo/int and negative for CD127. (F) Percentage of OT-I CD8⁺ T cells that were CD44⁺ CD127⁺CD62L^hi. All data represent mean ± SEM of one of 3 independent experiments, n = 5. * denotes p<0.05 and ** denotes p<0.01.