Fig. 6: Induction of NKG2A by CD8 T cells requires additional signals besides TCR stimulation and TGF-β.

a Flow cytometry analysis of one representative donor and (b) summary of NKG2A expression by CD8 T cells following PBMC stimulation with SEB (n = 9), Cytostim (n = 3) or PHA (n = 7) in the presence or absence of TGF-β. c Flow cytometry analysis and (d) summary of NKG2A and CD25 expression on sorted naive CD8 T cells stimulated with CD3/CD28 beads in the presence or absence of TGF-β (n = 5). e Flow cytometry analysis and (f) summary of NKG2A expression by CD8 T cells after stimulation of PBMCs or CD4-depleted PBMCs with SEB in the presence or absence of TGF-β (n = 5). g Summary of NKG2A expression on sorted naive CD8 T cells after coculture with autologous CD4 T cells, monocytes or CD4 T cells + monocytes in the presence of SEB with or without TGF-β (n = 5). All flow analyzes were performed after 8 days of culture. b, d, f, g Data are from distinct healthy donors. Horizontal lines indicate the mean ± SEM. NS= non-significant; p-values were determined by one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test (d, g) and by paired 2-tailed t test (f).