Fig. 5: SerBut ameliorates EAE development more effectively than free butyrate or serine.
a, Experimental schema. EAE was induced in C57BL/6 mice using MOG35–55/CFA with pertussis toxin (140 ng). Mice were given drinking water containing 100 mM NaBut, l-Ser or SerBut from day −14 until the end of the study. On day 2 after EAE induction, PBS (n = 9), NaBut (15 mg, molar equivalent to SerBut, n = 8), l-Ser (12 mg, molar equivalent to SerBut, n = 8) or SerBut (24 mg, n = 7) was administered once daily. b, Disease progression as indicated by the clinical score. The areas under the curve were compared, and statistical analyses were performed using one-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s test. c, The probability of EAE clinical scores remaining below 1.0 for the four groups. Statistical analysis was performed using the log-rank (Mantel–Cox) test comparing every two groups. d–m, Phenotypes of CD4+ T cells from the SC-dLNs (that is, the iliac and cervical LNs), including the percentage of PD-1+ (d), CTLA-4+ (e) or Foxp3+CD25+ (f) of total CD4+ T cells; PD-1+ (g) or CTLA-4+ (h) of Foxp3+CD25+CD4+ Treg cells; the percentage of MOG tetramer-positive CD4+ (i) or CD4+RORγt+ (j) T cells of total live cells; and Foxp3+CD25+ (k), PD-1+ (l) or CTLA-4+ (m) of MOG tetramer-positive CD4+ T cells. n, Heatmap of the percentage of co-stimulatory molecule (CD40+ or CD86+) or MHCII+ cells of myeloid cells in the SC-dLNs, indicated by the colour as shown in the corresponding scale bar. Data represent mean ± s.e.m. Experiments were repeated with similar, though not identical, dosing regimens, and the results were consistent. Statistical analyses were compared between PBS and each treatment group using one-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s test or Kruskal–Wallis test (if not normally distributed). In b–m, P values less than 0.05 are shown. In n, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 and ****P < 0.0001. For raw figure and the P value for n, refer to Supplementary Fig. 10.
