Interleukin-17 plays a critical role in the acute rejection of intestinal transplantation

Figure 4 Administration of anti-interleukin-17 monoclonal antibody decreased the expression levels of helper T cell 17 cells in intestine grafts in rat recipients. The intestines from inbred F344 were transplanted to LEW rats. The recipient rats were randomly divided into control and anti-interleukin (IL)-17 monoclonal antibody (mAb) treated groups. The rats were sacrificed on the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, 5^th, and 7^th d after transplantation. The grafts were removed, fixed, and embedded. The sections were stained with hematoxylin eosin (HE), anti-rat-IL-17, and anti-rat-CD4 fluorescence antibodies (× 400). A-E: HE staining of intestine graft; F-J: Helper T cell (Th) 17 immunofluorescence staining of intestine graft; A, F: 1 d after transplantation; B, G: 2 d after transplantation; C, H: 3 d after transplantation; D, I: 5 d after transplantation; E, J: 7 d after transplantation; K: Mean fluorescence intensity of Th17 expression of intestine graft. ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01 vs control group.