Effect of IL-10 receptor (IL-10R) blockade upon leukomyelitis in Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV)-infected SJL mice.

<p>(A) TMEV-infection and concurrent intraperitoneal application of IL-10R antibody lead to an increase of CD3⁺ T cells in the spinal cord at 49 days post infection (dpi) compared to (B) TMEV-infected control animals. A,B: immunohistochemistry, bar = 20 μm. (C) Statistical analyses revealed a significant increase of CD3⁺ T cells in TMEV-infected mice with IL-10R blockade compared to isotype-treated animals at 49 dpi. Almost no CD3⁺ T cells were present in spinal cord cross sections of mock-infected animals. (D) Simultaneously, IL-6 mRNA expression significantly decreased in TMEV-infected animals following IL-10R blockade. white box = TMEV-infected mice without IL-10R Ab treatment (group “isotype_late/TMEV”), grey box = TMEV-infected mice with IL-10R treatment (group “IL10R↓_late/TMEV”), black box = mock-infected mice with IL-10R treatment (group “IL10R↓_late/mock”). Box and whisker plots display median, minimum and maximum values as well as upper and lower quartiles, 5 animals used in all groups, Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, * = p < 0.05.