FIGURE 5.

No significant increase in autoimmune pathology in Aire^−/− and Aire^+/+ HLA-DR2b or HLA-DR4 mice after CLTA-4 and/or CD25 blockade. Spleens of naïve HLA-DR2b or HLA–DR4 mice were procured and stained with fluorochrome conjugated anti-CD4, CD25, Foxp3 mAbs followed by flow cytometry analysis as described in Materials and Methods. (A, B) Distribution of CD4⁺CD25⁺Foxp3⁺ cells in the spleens of Aire^−/− HLA-DR2b (A) and Aire^−/− HLA-DR4 mice (B) in comparison with their respective Aire^+/+ HLA-DR littermates. (C) Aire^−/− and Aire^+/+ HLA-DR2b mice treated with anti-CTLA-4 and anti-CD25 mAbs, or (D) Aire^−/− and Aire^+/+ HLA-DR4 mice treated with anti-CTLA-4 mAb were weighed and no significant differences were found between the body weights of Aire^−/− and Aire^+/+ HLA-DR tg mice (t-test). Data are representative of two independent experiments (n = 3 – 4 mice/group, Mean ± SEM).