Figure 4. Aldara treatment leads to the differentiation of splenic B cells to Ab-producing cells and affects NFATc1 expression.

(a) Mice were treated with Aldara (+) or emollient cream (-) for 1, 3 or 7 days. Their splenic B cells were isolated, whole-protein extracts prepared and immunoblotted with Abs raised against murine IgM (lanes 1–7) or IgG (8–14). (b) Mice were treated with Aldara (+) or emollient cream (−) for 3 days. Their splenic B cells were left untreated or treated for 4 or 24 h with 10 μg ml⁻¹ αIgM mAb in culture. Whole-protein extracts were immunoblotted with Abs raised against NFATc1 (7A6 mAb) (top) or the α-peptide of NFATc1 (bottom). (c) Appearance of NFATc1 (uppermost), NFATc1/α (mid) and IgM (below) in cytoplasmic (CP) and nuclear proteins (NU) derived from splenic B cells of mice treated with Aldara (+) or emollient cream (−) for 3 days. PR, ponceau red.