Fig. 3.
Aging increases the number of IL-17+ CD4+ T cells infiltrating the spinal cord of AO rats immunized for EAE. (Panel a) Flow cytometry dot plots indicate the expression of (upper) IL-17 and (lower) IFN-γ in CD4+ TCRαβ + lymphocytes from spinal cord of (left) young and (right) aged rats on the 16th d.p.i. Numbers in the flow cytometry dot plots represent the percentage of cells in the indicated region. Bar graphs indicate the number of (upper) IL-17 + CD4+ TCRαβ + and (lower) IFN-γ + CD4+ TCRαβ + lymphocytes in spinal cords from young and aged rats. (Panel b) Bar graphs indicate the fold change in expression of mRNAs for IL-17 and IFN-γ in freshly isolated (Fresh) and PMA- and ionomycin-stimulated (PMA + iono) mononuclear spinal cord cells from aged relative to young rats on the 16th d.p.i. as determined by RT-qPCR. Data are normalized to β-actin (ACTB). All results are presented as means ± SEM (n = 9/group). Data are representative of one of two experiments with similar results. **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001