Fig. 6

Reduction of B7-H4 on dDCs by T. gondii infection associated with the synthesis and secretion of IL-10 and IL-12. a, b Flow cytometry analyses of IL-10, IL-12, and B7-H4 levels in CD11c⁺CD8a⁻ and CD11c⁺CD8a⁺ dDCs from WT uninfected, WT infected, and B7-H4^−/− infected groups of pregnant female mice. c, d Histogram analysis of IL-10, IL-12, and B7-H4 expression changes in CD11c⁺CD8a⁻ and CD11c⁺CD8a⁺ dDCs from WT uninfected, WT infected, and B7-H4^−/− infected pregnant female mice. e, f Analysis of IL-10 and IL-12 (green) expression levels in uninfected, infected, and B7-H4-neutralized infected purified human dDCs by IF. DAPI (blue) labeling defined the morphology of nuclei. Scale bars, 10 μm. g Histogram analysis of IL-10 and IL-12 expression changes from purified human dDCs by immunofluorescence intensity. Data shown are means ± SD. At least six samples of human decidua in each group were assayed individually in flow cytometry and at least three samples of human decidua in each group were assayed individually in Western blot and IF by paired t-test for uninfected vs infected group infected vs B7-H4 neutralized infected group; and eight pregnant female mice in each group were assayed individually by unpaired t-test; uninfected and infected group, infected & B7-H4^−/− infected group. h Western blotting assay of IL-10 and IL-12 levels under T. gondii infection with varied concentrations (0, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 μg/ml) of B7-H4 neutralized antibody in purified human dDCs