Fig. 4

Treatment with L. lactis-CFA/I induces Tregs and sustains SFR in B6.NOD-Aec1Aec2 (SjS) female mice. Ten wk-old SjS females (n = 7–8/group) were orally dosed with 5 × 10⁷ CFUs of LL-CFA/I, LL vector (Vec.), or PBS, and additional doses given every 4 wks. a SFR depicted for mice at 4 wks of age before treatments compared to treated mice at 28 wks of age. The PBS-treated group at termination showed a mean SFR of only 7.83 ± 0.83 μl/g. Significant changes in SFR from 4 wks measurement are depicted: *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01. b–i Two wks after their final dose, density gradient-purified lymphocytes from MLNs, spleens, and HNLNs were stimulated for 2 days with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 mAbs. The percent MLN b CD4⁺ and c CD8⁺ T cells are shown for all treatment groups. d–f Representative FACS plots and histograms show the percent CD25⁺CD4⁺ T cells in the d MLNs, e spleens, and f HNLNs. Additional analysis was performed to discern the percentage of g MLN, h splenic, and i HNLN Foxp3⁻ and Foxp3⁺ CD25⁺ CD4⁺ T cells expressing TGF-β and IL-10; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 reflect differences from PBS-treated group