IL-21 Limits Peripheral Lymphocyte Numbers through T Cell Homeostatic Mechanisms
Figure 6
Decreased T cell effector function in IL-21R-deficient NOD mice.
Representative dot plots from individual NOD and IL-21R KO NOD mice showing frequency of (A) TNFα+/CD69+, TNFα+ /CD44+, (B) IFNγ+ /CD69+, IFNγ+/CD44+ populations in CD8+ T cells and (C) TNFα+/CD69+, TNFα+/CD44+, (D) IFNγ+/CD69+, IFNγ+/CD44+ populations in CD4+ T cells. Gates are based on isotype control staining. Graphs represent pooled flow cytometric data from pancreatic lymph nodes of 11-to-13 week old mice for two independent experiments with a total of n = 8 mice/group. Results are presented as the mean percentages ±SEM. (E) Percentages of the indicated cell populations from A–D were multiplied by the total number of cells in the pancreatic lymph nodes for each individual animal to give the absolute numbers for each indicated cell population. Data are shown as mean absolute numbers ±SEM. (F) Cumulative incidence of diabetes was monitored by measuring blood glucose levels in NOD (close circles) and IL-21R KO NOD (open squares) mice (n = 15 mice/group) at the indicated ages. (G) Paraffin sections of pancreata from NOD and IL-21R KO NOD mice stained with H&E. In total, four NOD and four IL-21R KO NOD mice were evaluated, with fifty individual islets examined per strain. The images shown in these panels were obtained from 2 different mice per strain; the NOD mice were 11 weeks of age; the IL-21R KO NOD mice were 13 weeks of age.
