Fig. 5. CD4⁺ T cells are maintained in the tongue of C. albicans-colonized mice independently of circulating T cells.

WT mice were infected sublingually with C. albicans strain 101. 21 days post infection, FTY720 was administered in the drinking water for 3 weeks and CD3⁺CD4⁺ T cells in the blood and in the tongue were analyzed by flow cytometry. Frequencies (top) and absolute numbers (bottom) of CD3⁺CD4⁺ T cells in the blood (a) and in the tongue (b), respectively. c Frequency (top) and absolute numbers (bottom) of CD103^hiCD3⁺CD4⁺ T cells in the tongue. d Frequency (top) and absolute numbers (bottom) of IL-17⁺CD3⁺CD4⁺ T cells in the tongue. Cytokine production was analyzed after re-stimulation with PMA and ionomycin for 4 h in the presence of Brefeldin A. Data are the mean + SEM of ten mice per group pooled from two independent experiments. Statistics were calculated using t-test, ***p < 0.001. See also Supplementary Fig. S6.