The benzene metabolite 1,4-benzoquinone reduces regulatory T-cell function: A potential mechanism for tobacco smoke–associated atopic dermatitis  Marcus Winter, MSc, Loreen Thürmann, PhD, Zuguang Gu, PhD, Gerrit Schüürmann, PhD, Gunda Herberth, PhD, Denise Hinz, PhD, Martin von Bergen, PhD, Hauke Harms, PhD, Sven Olek, PhD, Stefan Röder, PhD, Michael Borte, MD, Roland Eils, PhD, Irina Lehmann, PhD, Saskia Trump, PhD  Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology  Volume 140, Issue 2, Pages 603-605 (August 2017) DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2017.01.034 Copyright © 2017 The Authors Terms and Conditions

Fig 1 Effects of 1,4-BQ or benzene exposure. A, CFSE assays reveal a significant impairment in Treg-cell suppressive function by 50 nM 1,4-BQ treatment for 24 hours (2-way-ANOVA, P = .002, n = 5). B, IL-13 and GrzB concentrations were elevated in the supernatants of these CSFE assays (signed rank sum test, **P ≤ .01, ***P ≤ .001, n = 5). C, Association of benzene exposure with cytokine secretion and Treg-cell number in the LINA cohort. CFSE, 5(6)-carboxyfluorescein N-succinimidyl ester; DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide; LINA, Lifestyle and Environmental Factors and Their Influence on Newborns Allergy Risk. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2017 140, 603-605DOI: (10.1016/j.jaci.2017.01.034) Copyright © 2017 The Authors Terms and Conditions

Fig E5 Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2017 140, 603-605DOI: (10.1016/j.jaci.2017.01.034) Copyright © 2017 The Authors Terms and Conditions