Fig. 1

Distribution and functional characterisation of TERT-specific CD4⁺ T cells in patients with NSCLC. a TERT-specific CD4⁺ T-cell responses were evaluated in 170 naïve-NSCLC patients by IFN-γ ELISpot assay performed after an in vitro stimulation of PBMC with HLA class II peptides derived from TERT. b, c Distribution of anti-TERT IFN-γ CD4⁺ T cells in NSCLC patients (n = 170), shown as the number of spots (b), and ratio of spots (c). Grey lines indicate the positivity thresholds, and blue lines indicate the median of spots calculated in responders patients. d Frequency of patients with negative (NEG) and positive (POS) anti-TERT Th1 responses. e–g Phenotypic and functional characterisation of anti-TERT CD4⁺ T cells detected by flow cytometry. e Dot plots of one representative patient show CCR7 and CD45RA and ICOS staining in IFN-γ⁻/IFN-γ⁺ CD4⁺ T cells. f Dot plots of one representative patient show CXCR3 and CCR6 staining in IFN-γ⁺ CD4⁺ T cells. g Dot plots of one representative patient show IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-17 cytokines production in response to TERT stimulation. The data are representative of three independent experiments