Fig. 6: CD8⁺CD57⁺ T cells express larger quantities of proinflammatory cytokines and contribute to hepatic gluconeogenesis.

a FACS analysis of human CD8⁺ T cells immunostained with anti-CD28 and anti-CD57 antibodies. b Subsets including CD28⁻CD57⁺- and CD28⁺CD57⁻-expressing human CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells were visualized by Giemsa staining. Scale bar: 10 μm. c Four groups of the subsets were subjected to real-time PCR. d Population size and functional analysis of CD28⁻CD57⁺CD8⁺ T cells in human liver tissue. e Correlation between CD8⁺CD28⁻CD57⁺ T cells and fasting blood glucose in human subjects (n = 80; P < 0.01). Correlations were determined by Spearman correlation to assess the relationship (P < 0.01). f Schematic graphic of the co-culture of HepG2 with CD8⁺CD57⁺ T cells. g Real-time PCR analysis of G6PC and PCK1 in HepG2 cells co-cultured with or without CD8⁺CD57⁺ T cells (2×10⁴ or 1×10⁵ cells) and insulin (100 nm). Results are representative of three independent experiments, and data are expressed as the mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05 compared with the corresponding controls. Flow cytometry plots are representative of at least three independent experiments