Figure 4

Effects of IL-37 on the T-cell proliferation and differentiation mediated by CD4⁺CD25⁺Tregs.

CD4⁺CD25⁻T cells were activated with a combination of soluble anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 monoclonal antibodies (A). CD4⁺CD25⁺Tregs were mixed with CD4⁺CD25⁻T cells at a ratio of 1:1 in the presence of anti-CD3/CD28 antibodies (B). siRNA-IL-37 transfected CD4⁺CD25⁺Tregs stimulated with anti-CD3/CD28 antibodies were co-cultured with CD4⁺CD25⁻T cells (C). Scrambled control RNA transfected CD4⁺CD25⁺Tregs stimulated with anti-CD3/CD28 antibodies were co-cultured with CD4⁺CD25⁻T cells (D). A modified 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol⁻2-yl) -2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to measure T-cell proliferation activity. Levels of IFN-γ and IL-4 in culture medium were determined by ELISA and IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio was used to evaluate T-cell differentiation. Results of independent experiments were shown as the mean ± SD. Statistically significant difference was found between the values in groups (B,C) (P < 0.05).