Fig. 4From: The CII-specific autoimmune T-cell response develops in the presence of FTY720 but is regulated by enhanced Treg cells that inhibit the development of autoimmune arthritisEx vivo analysis of the effect of FTY720 on the type II collagen (CII)-specific T-cell response. Mice were immunized with CII and complete Freund’s adjuvant and treated with FTY720 (1.0 mg/kg or 0.2 mg/kg) or vehicle, or they were not immunized and not treated (naive). Lymph node cells recovered from the mice treated with FTY720 or vehicle (a–c) or from naive mice (d) were stained with a DR1-CII tetramer and antibodies specific for CD19, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD25, and CD62L, and the cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. The mean percentage of CD4+/tetramer-positive, CII-specific T cells in the lymph nodes is shown in (e), and the number of CII-specific T cells present in the lymph nodes as determined by tetramer staining and cell counts is shown in (f). The expression of CD25 and CD62L by the tetramer-positive cells in the FTY720 and control groups as determined by flow cytometry is shown in (g) and (h). Data were generated by sequential gating on 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole–negative cells, forward versus side scatter, CD19− and CD8− cells, and CD3+CD4+ cells. The tetramer-positive cells in (a–e) are shown as the percentage of CD3+CD4+ T cells, and this percentage value was used to calculate the total number of CII-specific T cells shown in (f). Open bars indicate mice treated with 1.0 mg/kg FTY720, gray bars represent mice treated with 0.2 mg/kg, and closed bars indicate the vehicle control group. Error bars indicate standard deviation, and p values indicate statistically significant differences between treatment groups and vehicle groupsBack to article page