Figure 4.

CD11c⁺ cell expression of Mbd2 is essential to limit colitis. CD11cΔMbd2 or littermate Cre⁻ (WT) mice were co-housed and tissues were harvested 8 days post consecutive treatment DSS treatment. The severity of colitis in the mice was assessed by (A) weight loss following DSS treatment and (B) symptom score (calculated from daily assessment of weight loss, rectal bleeding, and stool consistency). (C) colon sections obtained from DSS treated mice were stained with H&E and (D), colitis severity was assessed blinded according to a DSS histo-pathology score. Colonic lamina propria cells were isolated and the relative proportion and number of monocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, macrophages DC subsets (E,F) and T cells (J) were assessed by flow cytometry. Lamina propria cells were incubated for 3 h with 1 μl/ml Golgistop and (G) the proportion of monocyte, neutrophil, eosinophil, cDC1s and macrophages that express IL-1β (H) the proportion of myeloid IL-1β⁺ cells, (I) and the total number of IL-1β⁺ cells was assessed by intracellular staining and flow cytometry. (J) Number of CD4⁺ and CD8α/β⁺ TCRα/β T cells as a proportion of CD45⁺ cells. (K) ifng mRNA levels derived from 1 cm sections of distal colon in DSS treated CD11cΔMbd2 or littermate Cre⁻ mice determined by qPCR relative to gapdh. Mean symptom score ± SEM, representative data of 3 independent experiments (B) presented, all other graphs show least mean square + SEM, n = 15–25 per group, analyzed by linear regression of 6 independent experiments, except (J,K) which are representative data from 3 independent experiments. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001. # comparison of total number of myeloid cells DSS treated CD11cΔMbd2 vs. Cre⁻ controls (P < 0.0001).