Figure 4
Cytotoxicity was reduced in CD8+ T-cells from rectal mucosa compared with blood in a redirected lysis assay. (a) Representative flow cytometry plot of rectal and blood CD8+ T-cell-mediated lysis of GFP+ target cells at an E:T ratio of 10:1 in the presence of anti-CD3. Lysis is indicated by a reduction in P815 GFP+ target cells with the addition of anti-CD3. Histogram plots display the frequency of live cells expressing GFP. Numbers over bars indicate the count of P815 GFP+ target cells. (b) Rectal CD8+ T-cells displayed a significant (P=0.0052) reduction in killing ability compared with blood CD8+ T-cells. (c) Findings summarized by HIV status: HIV+ vs. seronegative (SN). No significant differences were detected in killing capacity between HIV disease progression groups (viremics, controllers, ART-treated, seronegatives); however, this issue could not be fully explored due to subject recruitment limitations. Wide horizontal bars represent medians; narrow whiskers indicate interquartile ranges; asterisks indicate level of significance as follows: *P<0.05, **P<0.01.
