Figure 5.

IL-27 and Gal-9 cooperatively promoted Tim-3⁺ Treg cell accumulation in vitro. CD4⁺ T cells sorted from early pregnancy peripheral blood were activated with plate-bound anti-CD3 (2 μg/ml) and soluble anti-CD28 (1 μg/ml) for 2 days and were rested afterwards in the presence of IL-27 (100 ng/ml) and/or Gal-9 (1 µg/ml) for 7 days. The cell culture treatment schematic is shown in A. CD4⁺ T cells group: CD4⁺ T cells alone; IL-27 group: CD4⁺ T cells treated with rhIL-27 in the first 4 days; Gal-9 group: CD4⁺ T cells treated with Gal-9 in the last 3 days; IL-27 + Gal-9 group: CD4⁺ T cells treated with rhIL-27 in the first 4 days, then treated with Gal-9 for 3 days. Representative and statistical results are shown in B and C. Data are expressed as means ± SEM. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001.