RBV 0–500 ng/ml[32] (Sigma Chemicals) reconstructed

in PBS was added to the culture plates. Flow cytometric analysis was performed using this website a FACS Diva (BD Bioscience). For staining cell surface molecules, 500 000 cells were harvested, washed twice with RPMI-1640, and pelleted. The following antibodies were used: FITC-conjugated anti-human CD25 and ICOS, phycoerythrin (PE)-conjugated anti-human CD4, PE-Cy7-conjugated anti-human CD45RO, allophycocyanin-conjugated anti-human CD45RA (all antibodies were purchased from BD Bioscience). The expression of intracellular Forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) was detected using a PE-conjugated anti-human FOXP3 staining kit (e-Bioscience) AZD2014 concentration according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Propidium iodide (PI) was used to confirm the percentage of dead cells. CD4+ CD25− and CD4+ CD25+ CD127− T cells were plated at 1 × 106/ml in a 48-well plate and stimulated with pB-OKT3 5·0 μg/ml with or without RBV for 48 hr at 37°. Culture supernatants were collected and stored immediately at −80°. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were performed to titrate IL-4, IL-10, IFN-γ and TGF-β1 in the culture supernatants using DUOSET anti-human IL-4, IL-10, IFN-γ and TGF-β1 ELISA kits (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, MN). The [3H]thymidine incorporation assay

was performed to determine the impact of RBV on the regulatory effect of CD4+ CD25+ CD127− T cells. Twenty thousand CD4+ CD25−

T cells and CD4+ CD25+ CD127− T cells with or without pre-incubation with RBV were mixed and stimulated with pB-OKT3 0·05–5·0 μg/ml in the presence of 2·0 × 105 allogeneic irradiated (3000 rads) PBMCs for 3–7 days at 37° in 96-well round-bottomed culture plates. Subsequently, 1 μCi/well of [3H]thymidine (MP Biomedicals, Decitabine solubility dmso Morgan City, CA) was added and incubated for an additional 16 hr. The cells were harvested and [3H]thymidine incorporation was measured using a 1450 Micro Beta Trilux scintillation spectrometer (Wallac, Gaithersburg, MD). For cytokine-neutralizing assays, either anti-human IL-10 mAb 1·0 μg/ml or anti-human TGF-β1 mAb 10 μg/ml was added to each culture well. To confirm the regulatory activity of the CD4+ T cells after incubation with CD4+ CD25+ CD127− T cells, whole cells including CD4+ CD25− T cells and CD4+ CD25+ CD127− T cells or those pre-treated with RBV were harvested. Twenty thousand of these cells and the same number of freshly isolated CD4+ CD25− T cells from the same donors were mixed and re-stimulated with pB-OKT3 0·05 μg/ml in the presence of 2·0 × 105 allogeneic irradiated PBMCs for 7 days at 37°. The thymidine incorporation was measured as described above. Transwell systems were used to determine the participation of humoral elements in the regulatory effects of CD4+ CD25+ CD127− T cells.