Fig 6. pDC depletion increases the differentiation of type 1 and type 17 CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells.

The presence of IL-17⁺, IL-4 and IFN-γ⁺ in CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells in the LILs was assessed by intracellular cytokine staining by flow cytometry at weeks 2 and 8 after infection. Lung cells were stimulated in vitro with PMA/ionomycin for 6 hours and subjected to intracellular staining for IL-17 and IFN-γ. The lung infiltrating lymphocytes were gated by FSC/SSC analysis. Lymphocytes were gated for CD4 or CD8 expression and then for IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-17 expression. Results are expressed in frequency and absolute number of cells and are representative of 3 independent experiments. Data are expressed as means ± SE of the mean. *p < 0.05.