The role of non-professional liver APCs for tolerance induction in the mouse model of concanavalin A-induced liver injury

Objectives: A single injection of concanavalin A (ConA) in mice induces acute Th1-mediated hepatitis. Tolerance against ConA rechallenge develops within 8 days mediated by IL-10-producing CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs). This study was intended to identify the contribution of hepatocytes (HC) to ConA tolerance by inducing a regulatory phenotype in naïve T cells. Methods: HC were isolated from saline- or ConA-pretreated wt, IL-10-, IRF-1- or B7H1-deficient mice. Subsequently, HC were co-cultivated with splenic CD4+ responder T cells from wt, DEREG or IL-10 KO mice and stimulated with both anti-CD3 and…