Fig. 2

Frequency and functions of liver MAIT cells are impaired during cirrhosis. a Representative dot plots and summary data of CD161^hi Vα7.2⁺ double positive cells (MAIT) in mononuclear cells isolated from cirrhotic (n = 13) and control (n = 11) liver tissues. b Representative images of CD3⁺Vα7.2⁺ double positive cells in liver tissue sections from control (n = 4) and cirrhotic (n = 6) livers, showing the preferential presence of CD3⁺ Vα7.2⁺  cells within the fibrotic septa, and no or discrete sinusoidal immunostaining, whereas discrete sinusoidal staining is observed in control livers, both in sinusoidal space and portal tract (n = 6, double stained cells are indicated by arrows). Scale bar = 10 μm. c Representative CD3⁺ Vα7.2⁺ double immunostaining of liver tissue sections from cirrhotic livers, showing their presence close to α-SMA positive cells. Scale bar = 10 μm. d Comparison of expression of PD-1 and TIM-3 on intrahepatic MAIT cells in control (n = 10–11) and cirrhotic livers (n = 13–10). e Correlation between intrahepatic MAIT frequency and the percentage of positive MAIT cells for PD-1 (n = 13) and TIM-3 (n = 9) in cirrhotic livers. f Representative dot plots and summary data of cytokine profile of cirrhotic (n = 7) vs. control (n = 6) intrahepatic MAIT cells. Statistical analysis was performed using Mann–Whitney (a, d, f) or Spearman correlation test (e). *p ≤ 0.05; **p ≤ 0.01