Figure 2

Increased infiltration of IL-17⁺and Foxp3⁺cells in the skin of patients with active SSc. (A) IL-17 protein expression in superficial dermis and deep dermis of early SSc patients examined by immunohistochemical staining. (B) Counts of IL-17⁺ lymphocytes in skin of SSc patients (early SSc patients, n = 8; late SSc patients, n = 5). The positive cells in surface were counted under × 400 magnification, and five randomly selected independent microscopic fields were counted for each sample to ensure that the data were representative and homogeneous. (C) Foxp3 protein expression in epidermis, superficial dermis, and deep dermis of patients with early SSc examined with immunohistochemical staining (left panels). Further magnification of the black-bordered box shows typical Foxp3⁺ lymphocytes (right panels). (D) Counts of Foxp3⁺ lymphocytes (×400 magnification) in skin of SSc patients (early SSc patients, n = 8; late SSc patients, n = 5). The positive cells in surface were counted under × 400 magnification, and five randomly selected independent microscopic fields were counted for each sample to ensure that the data were representative and homogeneous. Scale bar, 100 μm.