Fig. 6
DCs integrate allergic instructive signals and Th2-polarized cytokine signals via p38α to regulate Th2-cell differentiation. a, b A total of 2 × 106 naïve OT-II CD4+ T cells were i.v. transferred into C57BL/6 mice on day −1, and then the mice were i.n. treated with OVA plus HDM or LPS on Day 0. Mice were analyzed on Day 7 (n = 4–6). Flow cytometric analysis of eosinophils and neutrophils in the BALF (a). IL-4, IL-17, and IFNγ (b) or GATA3, RORγt and T-bet expression (c) in donor OT-II CD4+ T cells in lung tissues. d Flow cytometric analysis of p38 activity in HDM- or LPS-stimulated lung DCs (n = 6–7). e WT mice were i.n. immunized with 10 ng LPS or 50 μg HDM for 3 days, and the mRNA expression of Tslp, Il25, Il33 and Il12p40 was measured by qPCR (n ≥ 3). f, g Flow cytometric analysis of p38 activity in TSLP-, IL-33- or IL-12-stimulated DCs. h RNA analysis of Il4 and Il13 in OT-II CD4+ T cells activated with WT or p38α-deficient lung DCs in the presence of 10 ng/ml IL-33 or 10 ng/ml TSLP. The numbers above the bars indicate the ratio of Il4 or Il13 mRNA in T cells stimulated with p38α-deficient DCs to that in T cells stimulated with WT DCs (n ≥ 3). *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ns, not significant. Data are pooled from two experiments with consistent results (a, e and h) or representative of two (b and c) or three (d, f and g) independent experiments. Student’s t test (a–e) was performed, and the data are presented as the mean ± SEM
