At the time of sacrifice, lymphocytes were isolated from the brain and spleen (Becker et al., 2005 (
link); Zierath et al., 2015b (
link)). ELISPOT assays were used to detect MBP and
OVAlbumin (
OVA) specific secretion of interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-17 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1. Rat MBP was manufactured by NeoBioSci™.
OVA was purchased from Sigma. Antigens were used at a concentration of 50 μg/mL; responses were assessed in triplicate.
Lymphocytes (1×10
5 cells/well) were cultured in media alone or in media supplemented with antigen for 48 hours in 96 well plates (Multiscreen
®-IP, Millipore). Plates were developed using standard protocols (R & D Systems). Spots were counted with the aid of a semi-automated system (AID iSPOT®) and expressed as the ratio of the relative increase in antigen-specific IFN-γ secreting cells to that of TGF-β1 secreting cells (T
h1 response) or as the ratio of the relative increase in antigen-specific IL-17 secreting cells to that of TGF-β1 secreting cells (T
h17 response). For the purposes of this study, animals were considered to be T
h1 (+) or T
h17(+) if the T
h1 or T
h17 response to the antigen (MBP or
OVA) was greater than the 75
th percentile of
uninfected animals treated with the same antibiotic. Analyses of ELISPOT plates was done by an investigator masked to treatment status.
Becker K.J., Zierath D., Kunze A., Fecteau L., Lee B, & Skerrett S. (2016). The Contribution of Antibiotics, Pneumonia and the Immune Response to Stroke Outcome. Journal of neuroimmunology, 295-296, 68-74.