Fig. 4.

Effect of menopause on angiotensin II (ANG II)-induced splenic and renal T-cell infiltration profiles in Rag-1^−/− mice. T-cell adoptive transfer was performed in both premenopausal and menopausal Rag-1^−/− mice before ANG II infusion (490 ng·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹) for 14 days, and T-cell infiltration was measured in spleen and kidneys. A: no difference in percent of splenic CD4⁺ T cells (%CD4⁺ of CD3⁺ T) was seen between premenopausal ANG II-infused (Premeno/T-cell/ANG) and menopausal (Meno/T-cell/ANG) Rag-1^−/− mice. However, splenic T regulatory cell expression (%Foxp3⁺ of CD4⁺) was significantly reduced in menopausal mice compared with premenopausal Rag-1^−/− mice. Representative flow cytometric gating is shown for both populations of T cells from premenopausal and menopausal studies. B: no difference in percent of renal CD4⁺ T cells (%CD4⁺ of CD3⁺ T) was seen between premenopausal ANG II-infused (Premeno/T-cell/ANG) and menopausal (Meno/T-cell/ANG) Rag-1^−/− mice. However, renal T regulatory cell expression (%Foxp3⁺ of CD4⁺) was significantly reduced in menopausal mice compared with premenopausal Rag-1^−/− mice. Representative flow cytometric gating is shown for both populations of T cells from premenopausal and menopausal studies. Results are expressed as means ± SE; n = 5–6 mice/group. *P < 0.05 vs. Premeno/T cell/ANG, unpaired Student’s t-test. Rag-1, recombination-activating gene-1.