Figure 8. pDCs promote pristane-induced lupus-like disease.

The BALB/c-background WT mice (n = 10), Siglech^kd mice (n = 10), and pDC-ablated mice (n = 10) were injected with × pristane. (a) Serum production of IgG1, IgG2a, anti-ssDNA Ab, anti-dsDNA Ab, anti-snRNP Ab, and anti-Sm Ab, and creatinine was measured 4 weeks after injection with pristane. (b) Glomerular immune complex and C3 deposits were determined 4 months after injection with pristane by H&E staining and immunofluorescence staining for IgG, IgM, and C3 (magnification: 40×). (c–e) PECs and peritoneal lavage fluid were collected 14 days after injection with pristane. (c) The frequency of Ly6C⁺ and/or Ly6G⁺ subsets among CD11b⁺ PECs (left panel) and their absolute number (right panel) were analyzed by flow cytometry. Data are presented as a dot plot, and numbers represent the proportion of positive cells in each quadrant (left panel). (d) Transcriptional expression of Mx1, Ifna and Ifnb in PECs was measured by quantitative RT-PCR. (e) Production of cytokines in peritoneal lavage fluid was measured by ELISA. Data are the mean ± s.d. from ten individual samples in a single experiment. *P < 0.01 compared with WT mice. All data are representative of at least three independent experiments.