Fig. 4. c-Maf is critical for CD69-induced IL-10 expression.

a, b CD69⁺ Tregs, CD69⁻Tregs and CD4⁺Foxp3⁻T cells were isolated from Foxp3^GFP knock-in mice and the relative mRNA and protein levels of c-Maf in were analyzed by real-time RCR and western blot. c, d 1 × 10⁶/ml EL4 cells were infected with control retrovirus pMX or pMX-CD69 at MOI of 50 for 48 h to induce CD69 over-expression and the GFP positive cells were harvested. The relative mRNA and protein levels of c-Maf were analyzed by real time RCR and western blot. e–i The levels of c-Maf, IL-10, and TGF-β1 expression in CD69 overexpressing EL4 cells transfected with c-Maf siRNA or control siRNA were detected by real-time PCR and ELISA. Date are representative images or expressed as the mean ± SD of three independent experiments. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ns, no significant, ANOVA or Student’s t-test was used to determine significance