Decreased severity of CIA following adoptive transfer of CD4+CD25+ T cells induced by the CII pulsed T/C-DC treatment.

<p>A) Scheme representing the experimental protocol followed to induce and transfer CD4+CD25+ T cells, which is described in material and methods. B) Mice were injected with PBS, CII pulsed T/C-DC (5–8×10⁵/mouse), CD4+CD25-, CD4+CD25+ T cells, (3×10⁵/mouse), and the arthritis severity and incidence were assessed by clinical scoring during 15 days of onset. Values in arthritis score are the mean ± SEM of 5 mice per group, *<i>P</i><0.05 for CD4+CD25+ versus PBS on days 6, 9, 12 and 15. C) Histopathological examination of representative joints of PBS, CD4+CD25−, CD4+CD25+ T cells or CII pulsed T/C-DC recipient mice on day 15 of onset, original magnifications 10× (small squares) and 40× (big squares). The pictures show: inflammatory cell infiltrates (i), bone erosion (b), cartilage erosion (c), joint space (js). D) Graphs representing the measurement of the mean length of the articular cartilage and inflammation area from 5 points in each sample. Values are the mean ± SD of 5 mice per group. **<i>P</i><0.005 versus PBS on day 15 of onset.