Fig. 5.

Enhanced Th2 cytokine responses in the draining lymph nodes following challenge with OVA. Ten IL-31RA KO mice were sensitized intraperitoneally with 100 ug OVA in the presence of aluminum hydroxide at days 0, 7 and 14, and an intranasal challenge with 5% OVA started on day 21 for 7 consecutive days. (A) Lungs were collected for detection of Th2 and Th17 infiltrates by immunohistochemistry (n=6). (B) CD4⁺ T cells and (C) Th1, Th2, Th9 and Th17 populations in peripheral blood were analyzed by flow cytometry (n=5–10). (D) Draining lymph node cells from OVA-challenged mice were stimulated with 20 μg/ml of OVA for 48 h. Levels of IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-13 and IL-17 in supernatants detected by ELISA (n=5-6). Data expressed as the mean±s.e.m. Significance was determined by two-tailed Student's t-test. The experiment was repeated twice.