Figure 3

Dynamic changes of the percentages of CD3⁺, CD3⁺CD4⁺and CD3⁺CD8⁺lymphocytes in mice exposed to sulfur mustard (SM). Male KM mice were exposed to saline, propylene glycol (PG) and 20 mg/kg SM by subcutaneous injection. Six animals from each group were sacrificed after SM exposure at 4 h, 24 h, 72 h and 168 h, and the spleens were prepared as a cell suspension as described in the Materials and Methods and then incubated with CD3⁺CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ antibodies. The percentages of CD3⁺(A), CD3⁺CD4⁺(B) and CD3⁺CD8⁺(C) cells were assayed with a flow cytometer (FCM). Data were presented as the mean ± SD, n = 6 for each group (A-C). *Significant difference between the PG treatment and SM exposure groups (**P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001).