Fig 7. Molecular analysis of T cell receptor expression in brain sequestered macrophages.

C57BL/6 mice were infected with 10⁶ Plasmodium berghei ANKA parasites and approximately 1500 brain sequestered macrophages of the TCRβ⁺CD3ε⁻CD11b^highCD14⁺F4/80⁺ phenotype were sorted from perfused brain tissue of four moribund mice with experimental cerebral malaria. Unbiased quantification and characterization of all expressed T cell receptor (TCR) gene products was then performed by sequencing the complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) of T cell receptor β transcripts within the macrophage population of each mouse. A minimum of 50 productive gene rearrangements were sequenced per sample. Venn diagrams illustrate a diverse repertoire of expressed TCRβ genes and substantial overlap in preferred usage of TCRβ among the four mice.