4–9-day-old mice were euthanized using carbon dioxide and then sterilized with 70% ethanol. For the isolation of spleen cells, excised spleen was minced with scissors and the tissue fragments were dissociated in phosphate buffered serine (PBS) by pipetting.The cell suspension was strained through a cell strainer followed by the collection of cells by centrifugation at 1,000 rpm for 5 min. The collected cells were re-suspended in 5 ml of Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle medium (DMEM; Life Technologies) and added to the same volume of Lympholyte® (Cedarlane), and then centrifuged at 1,000 g<→rpm > for 20 min. The lymphocyte layer was isolated and washed with PBS to obtain single cell suspension.For the isolation of liver cells, excised liver was minced with scissors and the tissue fragments were dissociated by incubation in Type I collagenase (Worthington Biochemical) solution (0.5 mg/ml in Hanks Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS, no calcium, no magnesium; Life Technologies)). Next, the cell suspension was strained through a cell strainer followed by the collection of cells by centrifugation at 1,000 rpm for 5 min. For the isolation of heart cells, the excised heart was minced with scissors and the tissue fragments were dissociated by incubation in Type II collagenase (Worthington Biochemical) solution (0.5 mg/ml in HBSS). The cell suspension was strained through a cell strainer followed by the collection of cells by centrifugation at 1,000 rpm for 5 min.
