Figure 2. NLRC3 Negatively Regulates Cytokine Expression by Activated CD4⁺ T Cells.

CD4⁺ T cells purified from WT and Nlrc3^−/− mice were stimulated with anti-CD3 (5 μg/mL) and anti-CD28 (2 μg/mL) antibodies and incubated for 0, 4, 24, and 48 hr.

(A) Flow-cytometry analysis of CD4⁺IFN-γ⁺, CD4⁺TNF⁺, and CD4⁺IL-2⁺ cells.

(B) Percentages of IFN-γ⁺, TNF⁺, and IL-2⁺CD4⁺ T cells; MFI of IFN-γ expression among IFN-γ⁺CD4⁺ cells; MFI of TNF expression among TNF⁺CD4⁺ cells; and MFI of IL-2 expression among IL-2⁺CD4⁺ cells by intracellular staining.

(C) Representative results at the 24 hr time point of (B).

(D) IFN-γ, TNF, and IL-2 in supernatants of CD4⁺ T cell cultures as measured by ELISA.

Representative data from three experiments are presented as mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was determined by unpaired t test. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. See also Figure S3.