Fig. 3: PDL1 blockage increases fetal resorption and Tfr cells.

Adult BALB/c females were mated with C57BL/6 males, and the pregnant mice were injected intraperitoneally with anti-mouse PDL1 blocking mAb at a dose of 250 μg on E5.5 and E8.5, respectively. Both the control (IgG injected) and PDL1-blocked mice were sacrificed on E11.5. a Representative diagrams illustrate the whole uterus (containing embryos and placentas) and resorbed embryos are indicated by arrows. b Resorption rate is compared between the control and PDL1-blocked mice. c–h Representative flow cytometric plots (c, e, g) and cumulative data (d, f, h) compare the percentage and absolute number of CD4⁺CXCR5^hiPD-1^hiFoxp3⁺ Tfr cells in the maternal spleen (c, d), thymus (e, f) and uterus (g, h) between the control and PDL1-blocked mice. Each symbol reflects the data from a single mouse (n ≥ 7 mice per group) and the data are combined from four independent experiments. The cells are gated from CD4⁺ T cells. The data were assessed statistically using unpaired Student’s t-test (b, d) or Mann–Whitney U test (f, h). No.: number; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001.