Bifidobacterium longum Alleviates Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis by Suppressing IL-17A Response: Involvement of Intestinal Epithelial Costimulatory Molecules
Figure 4
Oral treatment of B. longum JCM 1222T (B.l) suppresses the expression of costimulatory molecules in IEC.
(a) mRNA expression of costimulatory molecules in IECs was analyzed by quantitative PCR. Levels of mRNA were normalized to β-actin mRNA, and expressed relative to control mice. The data are representative of three experiments. Results are expressed as means ± standard error (n = 6 (Control) or 7 (DSS, and DSS+B.l)). (b) IECs were stained for cytokeratin and CD80 or CD40 and analyzed by flow cytometry. Debris was gated out by forward and side scatter. Representative plots (upper panel) and the mean and standard error values of the percentage of cytokeratin/CD80 or CD40 positive cells (lower panel) are shown (n = 4). The data are representative of two experiments. (c) Cryosections of colonic tissue were labeled for CD40 (green) and E-cadherin (red). The data are representative of two experiments. Scale bars represent 50 μm. **p<0.01 versus control mice (Control); #p<0.05 and ##p<0.01 versus DSS-treated mice (DSS).