Figure 2.

Expression of TLR4 in the colonic epithelium and the lamina propia during acute colitis. BALB/c mice were treated with DSS in the drinking water to induce an acute colitis. Control mice (ctrl) received normal drinking water. At day seven, mice were sacrificed and cells from the lamina propia or intestinal epithelial cells were isolated from the colon. (A, B) CD45⁺ lamina propia mononuclear cells (LPMCs), CD45⁺ intestinal epithelial lymphocytes (IELs), and CD45^- EpCAM⁺ intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) were analyzed for TLR4 expression via flow cytometry. (A) Representative dot plot of TLR4 expression among the indicated cell types in the colon of ctrl and DSS mice. Numbers indicate percentages and the MFIs (in brackets) of TLR4 expression. (B) Summarized data of the percentages (upper panel) and the MFI (lower panel) of TLR4 expression from two independent experiments with n=7 ctrl and n=10 DSS mice is shown as mean ± SEM. (C) CD45⁺ LPMCs were further subdivided into Foxp3^- CD4⁺ T cells, CD8⁺ T cells, Foxp3⁺ CD4⁺ Tregs, CD19⁺ B cells, DX5⁺ NK cells, CD11c⁺ F4/80^- dendritic cells (DCs), CD11c⁺ F4/80⁺ macrophages (MΦs), CD11b⁺ Siglec-F⁺ eosinophils and CD11b⁺ Ly6G⁺ neutrophils, and TLR4 expression was analyzed. Absolute numbers of TLR4⁺ cells were calculated. Data from two independent experiment with n=5 ctrl mice and n=11 DSS mice are shown as mean ± SEM. Statistical analyses were performed by unpaired Student´s t-test (*p ≤ 0.05; **p ≤ 0.01; ***p ≤ 0.001).