Foxp3 expression at the DN cell stage in Tcf7-deficient mice.

Abstract

<p>(A) Representative plots and quantification of Foxp3 staining in CD4^-CD8^- (DN) thymocytes from Tcf7^+/+ and Tcf7^-/- mice (n = 8). (B) Left panels: Representative plots showing Foxp3 and intracellular (IC) TCRβ staining in DN thymocytes from Tcf7^+/+ and Tcf7^-/- mice. Middle panels: TCRγδ and CD3 staining on DN Foxp3⁺TCRβ^- cells (gate R1). Right panel: Quantification of DN Foxp3⁺TCRβ^-TCRγδ^-CD3^- cells (gate R2) depicted as the percentage of total DN cells (n = 6). (C) Left panel: Representative histograms showing CD5 staining on Foxp3⁺ DN, Foxp3⁺ DP, and Foxp3⁺ CD4SP cells from Tcf7^-/- mice. Right panel: Quantification of CD5 geometric mean from DN, DP, and CD4SP Foxp3⁺ or Foxp3^- populations (n = 3). Mean + SD are shown for all quantified data. Numbers show percentages of cells within the indicated box. Each symbol represents an individual animal. ** P < 0.01 (unpaired t-test).</p