Fig. 2: Dietary nucleic acids promote the development of natural IELs in the small intestine.

a, b Representative flow plots (a) or cell numbers (b) of small intestinal IEL subsets from SPF or GF mice, n = 5. c, d Representative flow plots (c) or cell numbers (d) of small intestinal IELs from C57BL/6 mice fed normal diet (ND) or purified diet (PD) for 6 weeks after their weaning, n = 5. e–g Representative flow plots (e) or cell percentages (f) and cell numbers (g) of small intestinal IELs from C57BL/6 mice fed PD with or without supplement of 0.5% purified nucleic acids (0.25% purified salmon testes DNA and 0.25% purified yeast RNA, DNA/RNA) for 6 weeks after their weaning, n = 5. h The cell numbers of the indicated small intestinal IEL subsets from wild type (WT) or Mavs^−/−Sting^gt/gt mice which were kept in separate cages (NT) or co-housed cages for 1 month, n = 5. i The absolute cell numbers of the indicated IEL subsets in the small intestine from WT mice or Mavs^−/−Sting^gt/gt mice fed ND or PD with or without a supplement of 0.5% purified nucleic acids for 6 weeks after their weaning, n = 5. Data are mean ± s.e.m. and from one experiment representative of two (a, b, h, and i) or three independent experiments (c–g). Statistics: one-way ANOVA followed by the Bonferroni post hoc test (h, i) or two-tailed, Student’s t tests (b, d, f, and g). Source data are provided as a Source Data file.