Fig. 8: IL-12 induces NKG2A expression on tumor-reactive CD8 T cells and is secreted in the TME.

a Flow cytometry analysis and (b) summary of the induction of NKG2A expression by NKG2A⁻ DP CD8 TILs cultivated for 8 days with an HLA-matched tumor cell line pulsed with their cognate peptide in presence or absence of IL-12 (n = 3). c ISH/IF for IL12 (RNA, magenta), TGF-β (RNA, green) and CD8 (protein, white). Representative low-power image of a CRC tumor sample (left), together with high-power views of four selected areas (right) are shown. Scale bar= 100 μm for the low-power image and 15 μm for high-power views. d The graph illustrates the distance (in µm) of IL-12⁺ cells to CD8 T cells. The proportion of IL-12⁺ cells within 0-10 µm, 10–30 µm and > 30 µm is indicated. The analysis was performed on the tumor from 7 patients (3 HNSCC and 4 CRC). g, Data are from tumor-reactive CD8 T cell lines isolated from three cancer patients. Horizontal lines indicate the mean ± SEM. NS= non-significant; p-values were determined by one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post hoc test.