Extended Data Fig. 9: CD44^s-hiCD49d^lo CD8⁺ T cells exhibit activation in a TCR-independent manner and enhanced proliferation capacity compared to other cell populations.

a-c, Following cytokine stimulation, various cells from SDLNs were incubated for 48 h and flow cytometric analysis performed (50 ng/ml IL-2, 50 ng/ml IL-7, 50 ng/ml IL-12, 50 ng/ml IL-15, or 50 ng/ml IL-18). a, The percentage of GzmB⁺ and perforin⁺ cells in AA and naïve T_VM cells, respectively (n = 16, AA T_VM; n = 17, naïve T_VM). b, The percentage of IFNγ⁺ cells (n = 11, AA T_VM; n = 8, naïve T_VM) and TNF⁺ cells in AA T_VM cells and naive T_VM cells (n = 11, AA T_VM; n = 12, naïve T_VM). c, Comparison of the percentage of GzmB⁺ cells, perforin⁺ cells, IFNγ⁺ cells, and TNF⁺ cells among each cell population in the presence of IL-15 (n = 12, naïve; n = 11, AA) or IL-12/18 (n = 8, naïve T_VM IFNγ⁺; n = 12, naïve T_VM TNF⁺; n = 11, AA). d, e, Following cytokine stimulation, various cells from SDLNs were incubated for 96 h. Representative flow cytometry plot of CTV^low cells (d) and the percentage of CTV^low cells in AA T_VM cells (n = 7) and naïve T_VM cells (n = 4) (e). f, gMFI of NKG2D in each cell population (n = 4, AA T_VM; n = 4, naïve T_VM). g, Comparison of the gMFI of NKG2D among each cell population without stimulation or in the presence of IL-15 (n = 4 per group). Data were acquired from AtAA mice. Data are presented as mean values ± SD. A Mann-Whitney test was performed for comparisons between two groups. All tests were two sided. ****P < 0.0001.

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