Wt b6 mice

WT B6 mice were purchased from Charles River Laboratories (St. Constant, QC). B6.129P2-Cxcr3^tm1Dgen/J (CXCR3^−/−) mice were obtained from Jackson Laboratories (Bar Harbor, ME). Mice were maintained in the animal facility of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center (Montreal, QC) under specific-pathogen-free conditions. Female mice, 6–8 weeks old, were used for all experiments. Experiments were conducted using procedures approved by the Canadian Council on Animal Care and the Animal Care Committee of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center. Blood-stage P. chabaudi AS parasite was maintained in mice by weekly passage as previously described (22 (link)). Mice were infected by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of 1 × 10⁶ parasitized red blood cells (pRBC). Parasitemia was monitored in the blood by microscopic examination of Diff-Quick (Fisher Scientific)-stained blood smears.

WT B6 mice were obtained from Charles River Laboratory (Wilmington, MA, USA). p50^−/− B6 mice (#6097) were obtained from Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME, USA). p50(f/f) and p50(f/f);Lysozyme(Lys)‐Cre B6 mice developed in our laboratory were previously described [16]. Eight‐ to sixteen‐week‐old male and female mice were utilized. This study was carried out in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health. All efforts were made to minimize suffering. Euthanasia was carried out by carbon dioxide asphyxiation.

Male 6-week-old WT B6 mice were purchased from Charles River Laboratories (Sulzfeld, Germany) and dbtg hCD20xhIgR3 mice were obtained from Taconic (Ejby, Denmark). The dbtg mice expressed both human and mouse CD20 on their B cells, in addition to an Ig mini-repertoire composed of the secreted forms of H-γ1, IgL-κ, and IgL-λ chains [46 (link),47 (link)]. Interestingly, in our hands, EAE was inducible only in male hCD20xhIgR3 mice, while female mice were resistant to disease development. Mice were housed under pathogen-free conditions with a 12 h light/dark cycle and free access to standard rodent diet (ssniff Spezialdiäten, Soest, Germany) and water. Special care such as softened food and ClearH₂O HydroGel (ClearH₂O, Portland, ME, USA) was provided for paralyzed animals. All animal experiments were approved by the Regierung von Unterfranken (file number 55.2-2532-2-577) and performed according to the criteria outlined by the German Animal Welfare Law. They complied with the German Law on the Protection of Animals, the “Principles of Laboratory Animal Care” (NIH publication no. 86-23, revised 1985), and the ARRIVE guidelines for reporting animal research [75 (link)].