Figure 8

Tgfbr2^fspKO dendritic cells (DCs) can induce autoimmune pancreatitis. Representative H&E-stained pancreatic tissue from 2-week-old wild-type mice after transfer of bone marrow-derived DCs from (A) Tgfbr2^{floxE2/floxE2} control or (B) Tgfbr2^fspKO mice (n = 12). Arrows indicate areas of inflammation. (C) Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis of 1×10⁶ live bone marrow-derived DCs from Tgfbr2^fspKO and Tgfbr2^{floxE2/floxE2} mice before and after treatment with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for 24 h to determine the percentage of mature DCs defined as live DCs simultaneously expressing CD11c and high levels of CD86 and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II. No significant difference was seen between untreated DCs, but LPS stimulation induced a significantly higher percentage of mature DCs in Tgfbr2^fspKO cultures (p = 0.002). (D) Proliferation of OTII.1 CD4⁺ T cells stimulated with ovalbumin-pulsed bone marrow-derived DCs from Tgfbr2^fspKO and Tgfbr2^{floxE2/floxE2} mice. Tgfbr2^fspKO DCs induced significantly higher T cell proliferation with increasing DC number (p = 0.05, untreated T cell control 335 (119) cpm).