Fig. 1

Pioglitazone eliminates hyperglycemia and mitigates lymphopenia in BBZDR/Wor diabetic rats. a, b Pioglitazone-dependent reduction in glucose levels is independent of weight. BBDZR/Wor diabetic and non-diabetic (littermates) rats were injected daily intraperitoneally with either 25 mg/kg pioglitazone or vehicle (5 % DMSO) for 2 months. Each group had 5 rats (a *p < 0.05, ^# p < 0.0002; b ^# p = 0.0002, *p = 0.0018). c Pioglitazone restores diabetic-induced lymphopenic status. Splenocytes from all four groups were examined for the percentage of CD3⁺CD4⁺ T cells using rat anti-CD3 Alexa Fluor 647 and anti-CD4 PE-Cy7 antibodies. Upper representative pseudocolor plot of 1 rat per condition. Lower quantitation of the flow cytometry analysis (n = 3; *p = 0.0087, ^# p = 0.0043). d In vivo increase in percentage of T lymphocytes is partly attributed to increase in recent thymic emigrants. Gated CD3⁺ T cells were examined for CD4 and CD31 immunoreactivity by using rat anti-CD4 PE-Cy7 and rat anti-CD31 Biotin/Streptavidin bv421, respectively. Upper representative plot of 1 rat per condition. Lower quantitation analysis (n = 3; ^# p < 0.005, *p = 0.0011)