Fig. 3

Levels of antigen-specific IFN-γ-producing CD4⁺ T cells in the CNS of TMEV-infected P2/P3-Tg mice (Tg) and their littermates (LM). a Splenocytes and CNS-infiltrating MNCs isolated from TMEV-infected mice were stained with CD4 and CD8. b CNS-infiltrating MNCs were restimulated with the mixture of CD4⁺ T cell-specific epitopes (mix for cells from B6 mice, VP2_206–220, and VP4_25–38; S mix for cells from SJL mice, VP1_233–250, VP2_74–86, and VP3_24–37; NS mix, 3D_6–23, and 3D_20–38). After 6 h of stimulation, the cells were stained for CD4 and intracellular IFN-γ. The percentages of CD4⁺ and IFN-γ⁺ cells are shown in the upper left corner. Data are representative of three independent experiments. c Histograms represent the mean percentages (upper panels) and the numbers (lower panels) from three independent experiments assessed by flow cytometric analysis. Statistical significance was analyzed by Student’s t test. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; and ***P < 0.001