Fig. 2

Preventive but not therapeutic treatment impairs the increase of CD8+ T-lymphocyte numbers in PLPmut mice. a Representative immune fluorescence microscopy of CD8+ T-lymphocytes (arrows) in longitudinal optic nerve sections from Wt, untreated mutants (PLPmut), preventively treated mutants (150 days, starting from postnatal month 4; PLPmut + teriflunomide preventive), and PLPmut mice after treatment interruption at 75 days after treatment onset (PLPmut + teriflunomide terminated). Mice were investigated at 9 months of age. b Quantification of CD8+ T-lymphocytes in optic nerve sections of Wt and PLPmut mice and in PLPmut mice after 150 days of preventive treatment. The numbers of CD8+ T cells were significantly increased in the untreated PLPmut mice, which was attenuated upon preventive treatment. Mice were investigated at 9 months of age. c Quantification of CD8+ T-lymphocytes in optic nerve sections of PLPmut mice after 75 days of preventive treatment, followed by 75 days without treatment. Treatment termination did not lead to an overshoot or rebound of T-lymphocyte number, but failed to significantly preserve T-lymphocyte reduction. Mice were investigated at 9 months of age. d Immunofluorescent depiction of CD8+ T-lymphocytes (left) and their quantification (right) in optic nerve sections of Wt and PLPmut mice and in PLPmut mice after 150 days of therapeutic treatment (PLPmut + teriflunomide therapeutic) starting at 10 months of age. Therapeutic treatment did not attenuate the increase of CD8+ T-lymphocyte numbers in PLPmut mice. Mice were investigated at 15 months of age. Scale bar 30 μm. One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc tests. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01. n = 5 mice per group