Fig. 4: IL-10 expression in acute SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8⁺T cell subsets.

a Net frequency of interleukin (IL)-10 expression in CCR7⁺CXCR3⁻, CCR7⁺CXCR3⁺, CCR7^hCXCR3^d, and EM CXCR3⁺ subsets within CD8⁺ T cells after stimulation with any of the three viral proteins (membrane (M), nucleocapsid (N), and spike (S) proteins). Data are shown as median and upper range, where each dot represents an individual patient for each group (nonhospitalized n = 14; mild n = 20, and severe n = 12). Statistical comparisons were performed using Kruskal–Wallis rank-sum test with Dunn’s multiple comparison test (two-sided): nonhospitalized (N, p = 0.041) and mild (M, p = 0.003; N, p = 0.007 and S, p = 0.042). b, c Correlation between CD8⁺ EM CXCR3⁺T cells responding with any function (added net response for interferon (IFN)γ, CD107a, IL-4 and IL-10) against M peptides and viral load (b) and against N peptides and baseline IL-6 levels (c). Two-tailed spearman rank correlation (n = 33 for viral load and n = 46 for IL-6).