Figure 3.

Percentages of ST2-expressing follicular, marginal zone, and B1 B cells in the spleen of pregnant and non-pregnant mice. (A) Representative pseudocolor and contour plots showing gating strategy used to quantify percentages of ST2-expressing follicular (FO), marginal zone (MZ), and B1 B cells in the spleen of pregnant and non-pregnant females. Lymphocytes were gated by FSC vs. SCC, doublets were eliminated, and B220 was used to define total B cells. CD23 and CD21 markers were used to identify FO (B220⁺CD23^hiCD21^low), MZ (B220⁺CD23^lowCD21^hi), and B1 (B220^lowCD23⁻CD21⁻) B cells. Fluorescence minus one (FMO) was used as control. (B) Box and Whisker plots showing percentages of ST2-expressing FO, MZ and B1 B cells at day 12 (12 dpp; n = 9, n = 9, and n = 9, respectively), 14 (14dpp; n = 11, n = 11, and n = 11, respectively) and 16 (16 dpp; n = 7, n = 7, and n = 7, respectively) of pregnancy as well as in non-pregnant females (NP; n = 11, n = 11, and n = 11, respectively). Data are expressed as box and whisker plots showing median. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.0001 as analyzed by ANOVA followed by Tukey's multiple comparisons test.