Figure 1.

TLR7 expression negatively regulates IL-10 producing B cells in autoimmune and non-autoimmune mice. (A–E) Representative flow cytometric gating strategy (A) and the percentages (B–E) of splenic CD19⁺CD1d^hiCD5⁺ B10 cells derived from male (B,D) or female (C,E) non-autoimmune B6 or autoimmune-prone Sle1b mice. (F–M) Purified B cells from B6 (F,G,J,K) or Sle1b (H,I,L,M) mice were stimulated with LPS and anti-CD40 mAb for 48 h. Cells were re-stimulated with PMA, Ionomycin and GolgiStop (monensin) cocktail for 5 h followed by intracellular staining for IL-10. (F,H,J,L) Representative flowcytometric contour plots show IL-10 expression in CD19⁺ gated population. (G,I,K,M) Secreted IL-10 was measured by ELISA from culture supernatants. The data shown are the cumulative results of 3 independent experiments. Statistical values were determined using an unpaired, non-parametric, Mann–Whitney, Student's t-test. **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, and ****p < 0.0001.