Interleukin 6 Accelerates Mortality by Promoting the Progression of the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus-Like Disease of BXSB.Yaa Mice
Fig 6
IL6 deficiency reduces the TFH population in BXSB.Yaa mice.
(A) Splenocytes from BXSB.Yaa.Il6-/- (n = 8) BXSB.Yaa (n = 5), BXSB.B6Y (n = 6) and C57BL/6J (n = 3) mice aged 6–9 weeks were stained with labeled antibodies to CD4, ICOS and PD1. Percentages of CD4+ T cells (CD4+) and TFH cells (CD4+ICOShiPD1+) cells were determined by FACS and expressed as mean ± SEM. (B) Sera from BXSB.Yaa.Il6-/- (n = 12; 1.5–5 months old), BXSB.Il6-/- (n = 5; 3–5 months old); BXSB.Yaa (n = 5; 3–5 months old) and BXSB (n = 5; 3–5 months old) mice were quantified for IL21 by sandwich ELISA. Data is expressed as mean ± SEM from observations from each mouse. Statistical analysis was done using one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparison test. * p<0.05, ** p<0.01, ***p<0.0001.