FIGURE 5.

Expansion of the mTEC compartment in Tnfrsf11b^−/− mice does not enhance intrathymic Treg generation. (A) Analysis of T cell development, CD25⁺Foxp3⁺ Treg, and CD25⁺Foxp3⁻/CD25⁻Foxp3⁺ Treg precursors in adult WT and Tnfrsf11b^−/− Rag2pGFP mice. (B) Quantitation of total thymic Treg, newly generated Rag2pGFP⁺ Treg/precursors, and Rag2pGFP⁻ Treg populations in Tnfrsf11b^−/− Rag2pGFP and Rag2pGFP mice. (C) GFP expression is retained after fixation required for intracellular staining of Foxp3. Shaded histograms represent fluorescence levels in WT thymocytes. (D) Frequency of total Rag2pGFP⁺ CD4 RTE, Rag2GFP⁺ Treg RTE, and Rag2pGFP⁺ conventional CD4⁺ RTE in the spleens of Rag2pGFP and Tnfrsf11b^−/− Rag2pGFP mice. (E) Flow cytometric analysis of the proportion and frequency of thymic B cells in WT and Tnfrsf11b^−/− mice. Data are representative of three separate experiments, and at least three mice per group were used. Error bars show SEM. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001(unpaired Student t test).