Figure 7

miR-27a is inversely associated with CD8⁺ T cells infiltration and activation affecting tumour aggressiveness and patients’ survival. (A) IHC analysis of miR-27a, CD8⁺ T cells and perforin in paraffin-embedded samples of CRC specimens classified according to different tumour stages (stages I–II versus III–IV) (scale bar, 50 μm). The histograms below report the quantification of CD8/perforin staining expressed as the mean number of positive cells in high-power fields (HPFs). (B) Immunofluorescence analysis of double-stained CD8⁺ (red) and LAMP1⁺ (green) or CD8⁺ and perforin⁺ cells (scale bars: 20 μm in panels a and b, and 5 μm in panels b and d). The histograms on the right show the percentage of double-positive CD8⁺/LAMP1⁺ and CD8⁺/perforin⁺ cells in tumour tissues according to miR-27a levels **P≤0.01 (two-tailed Student’s t-test). (C and D) Kaplan–Meier survival analysis of CRC patients on the basis of (C) CRT/miR-27a and (D) CD8⁺/miR-27a combinations. Log-rank test; P=0.012, P=0.096. Hazard ratios analyses are reported in the boxes on the right side