Fig. 3

CCR7-specific CD8⁺ GZMK⁺ T cells are associated with clinical symptoms in AIS patients. A UMAP visualization showing four transcriptionally distinct CD8⁺ GZMK⁺ T-cell subsets. B Dot plot showing the expression of the five selected genes in each subtype. C Feature plots showing the gene expression of representative markers across four subsets. D Gating strategy for determining the abundance of four CD8⁺ GZMK⁺ T-cell sub-populations via flow cytometry. E Proportions of CD8⁺ GZMK⁺ C04 T cells in non-stroke controls and AIS patients. n = 60/group. F Proportions of CD8⁺ GZMK⁺ C04 T cells in AIS patients before treatment, on day 1, and on day 7 after treatment. n = 60/group. G Spearman correlation between CD8⁺ GZMK⁺ C04 T-cell proportions and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores (pre-treatment). H Spearman correlation between CD8⁺ GZMK⁺ C04 T-cell proportions and NIHSS scores (day 7 post-treatment). I Spearman correlation between CD8⁺ GZMK⁺ C04 T-cell proportions and BI scores (pre-treatment). J Spearman correlation between CD8⁺ GZMK⁺ C04 T-cell proportions and BI scores (day 7 post-treatment). K Proportions of CD8⁺ GZMK⁺ C04 T cells in patients with good outcomes (mRS 0–2) versus poor outcomes (mRS 3–6) before treatment; n = 30 in the good outcome group and n = 30 in the poor outcome group. L Quantification of TNF in non-stroke controls and AIS patients. n = 60/group. M Quantification of IFN-γ in non-stroke controls and AIS patients. n = 60/group. The data are presented as the means ± SEMs. **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001