Figure 1: T_reg cell-specific deletion of Lkb1 leads to a fatal autoimmune disease.

(a) Lkb1 proteins in CD4⁺YFP⁻ conventional T cells and CD4⁺YFP⁺ T_reg cells untreated or stimulated in plates coated with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 in the presence of IL-2 for 24 h determined by western blot. (b) Survival of Foxp3^Cre and Foxp3^CreLkb1^f/f mice (n=20). (c) A representative appearance of 30-day-old Foxp3^Cre and Foxp3^CreLkb1^f/f mice (scale bar, 1 cm). (d) Body weight of Foxp3^Cre and Foxp3^CreLkb1^f/f male mice of different ages (n=10–15). (e) A representative picture of spleen and lymph nodes from 30-day-old Foxp3^Cre and Foxp3^CreLkb1^f/f mice. (scale bar, 1 cm). (f) Total cell numbers in spleen (Spl) and lymph nodes (LNs) of Foxp3^Cre and Foxp3^CreLkb1^f/f mice (n=7–8). (g) Representative haematoxylin and eosin-stained skin, lung, liver and stomach sections from Foxp3^Cre and Foxp3^CreLkb1^f/f mice (scale bar, 100 μm). All mice analysed were 28–30 days old, unless otherwise specified. Log-rank survival curve was used for survival analysis in b, and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for statistical analyses in d,f (*P<0.05, **P<0.01, ****P<0.0001); error bars represent s.d.; all data are representative of at least three independent experiments.