Fig. 5

MDSCs of PIWIL-overexpressing HCC suppresses T-cell proliferation and activation through IL10-dependent manner. The PMN-MDSCs in the hepatic tissues surrounding wild type or PIWIL1-overexpressing HCC were sorted and cultured. Significantly higher expression of PMN-MDSCs genes (a) and IL10 production (b) were observed in PMN-MDSCs from PIWIL1-overexpressing HCC; The PMN-MDSCs in the hepatic tissues surrounding wild type or PIWIL1-overexpressing HCC were sorted and co-cultured with simulated CD8 + cytotoxic T cells in the presence of IL10 neutralizing antibody. IL10 neutralizing antibody could potentially recover the c Ki67 and d Granzyme B expression in these T cells; e Protein was extracted from sorted PMN-MDSCs, and the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and JNK were found induced in sorted PMN-MDSCs from MDSCs induced by conditioned medium from PIWIL1-overexpressing HCC cells; BMDMs was incubated with conditioned medium from PIWIL1-overexpressing HCC cells following pre-incubation of p38 MAPK inhibitor SB203580 (10 μM) or JNK inhibitor SP600125 (10 μM) for 60 min. The protein secretion of IL10 was significantly suppressed by SB203580 or SP600125 (f). All experiments were performed in triplicate. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001