Figure 2.

FhTE induces Th2 polarization by reducing IFNγ and increasing IL-4 production. moDCs were incubated with coated FhTE in the presence or absence of LPS (10 μg/ml) for 48 h and the expression of costimulatory molecules was evaluated by flow cytometry (A). To evaluate the capacity of the stimulated moDCs to polarize naïve CD4 T cells, cells were washed and incubated with CD4⁺ CD45RA⁺ T cells (ratio 1:10) in the presence of Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B (10 pg/ml). After 5 days, supernatants were harvested for the evaluation of IFNγ (B,C), and replaced with 100 U of IL-2. After 5 days, Th1/Th2 polarization of T cells was evaluated by intracellular staining of IFNγ and IL-4 after stimulation with PMA and Ionomycin in the presence of Brefeldin A (D–F). When indicated (C,F), moDCs were preincubated with an anti-hMGL antibody or an isotype control, before stimulation. IL-4/IFNγ ratio was evaluated relative to the control, based in single positive cells. Concentration of FhTE used: 200, 100, and 50 μg/ml. A representative result of one out of four donors is shown (±SEM, indicated by error bars). Asterisks indicate statistically significant differences (*p < 0.05).