Figure 7.

Reduced TNF/Foxp3 ratio upon treatment with pOVA-PEG conjugates. 24 h after transfer of OVA-TCR⁺ CFSE-labeled CD4⁺ T cells, recipients received PBS (control), 5 µg of pOVA or equimolar amounts of different pOVA-PEG conjugates. After 6 days, TNF production and Foxp3 expression were assessed using flow cytometry for spleen cells. The TNF/Foxp3 ratio gated on OVA-TCR⁺ CD4⁺ cells was calculated, reflecting the effector T cell/Treg ratio of responding cells. Mean ± SD of the ratio % TNF⁺/% Foxp3⁺cells from at least two independent experiments; n = 5–8; PBS, n = 10. Statistical testing was performed using the nonparametric Mann Whitney test and Holm-Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.