The effect of rIL-21 administration on thymic recovery following DEX treatment.

<p>A) A representative photograph of thymi derived from treated mice. A group of C57BL/6 mice received equivalent volume of PBS. B) Flow-cytometry/histological analysis of thymi derived from treated mice. C) Total thymic cellularity for all tested groups. D) Absolute numbers of DN, DP, CD4 and CD8 SP T cells from thymi derived from treated mice. PBS only (black), DEX/PBS (red) and DEX/rIL-21 (green). We tested 3 mice per group. Data are representative of 3 separate experiments. E) Representative flow-cytometry analysis of TECs derived from PBS-, DEX/PBS- versus DEX/rIL-21-treated mice. Following TECs gating, IL-21Rα-chain was assessed by flow-cytometry. Isotype controls are displayed by black histogram whereas test condition is represented by red histograms. F) Absolute numbers of TECs from thymi derived from treated mice. We tested 7 mice per group. Data are representative of 3 separate experiments.