Figure 3. Dietary antigen is delivered to the colonic immune system during a preweaning period, results in the induction of tolerance, and generates a population of long-lived dietary antigen–specific pTregs.

(A) Luminal antigen presentation capacity of SI and colon LP-APCs isolated from mice receiving dietary Ova in early life as assessed by the increase in Ova-specific OTII T cells after 72 hours of coculture. (B) Dietary Ova was given to mice for 10-day intervals throughout life, and tolerance was evaluated following Ova immunization and challenge, as assessed by footpad swelling. (C) Absolute number of Foxp3⁺ Ova-specific OTII cells in the SI or colon LP 1 or 8 weeks following transfer into DOL16 or DOL56 mice that were given Ova in drinking water for 7 days. (D) Percentage of colonic OTII T cells that are Foxp3⁺ and RORγt⁺ 8 weeks following transfer into DOL16 mice and 1 week of Ova in drinking water. Data are presented as the mean ± SEM, *P < 0.05; each point represents an individual mouse. Offspring were from 2 litters per condition and/or time point. Significance was calculated using 2-tailed Student’s t test in A, C, D. One-way ANOVA with a Dunnett’s post hoc test was used in B.