Fig. 7: SOAT2 induces Teffs cellular senescence via competitive cholesterol metabolism of Treg cells.

A–C Representative images of Teffs stained for β-galactosidase (arrows) after co-cultured with Treg cells (n = 3) (A), scale bars: 50 μm; quantitation of β-galactosidase-positive Teffs were shown (B, C). D–F The protein expression of P16, P21, P53 in Teff cells in the young and old individuals were monitored by western blotting analysis in indicated groups. The experiment was repeated 3 times independently with similar results. G–J, Treg cells were co-cultured with CD8⁺ T lymphocytes at a 0.2:1 ratio in indicated groups, and the expression of CD27 or CD28 in human Teffs (G, H) and murine Teffs (I, J) were detected by flow cytometric analysis (n = 3). K Schematic representation of Treg cells exerts immunosuppressive path on Teffs (Created in BioRender. Major, Z. (2024) https://BioRender.com/s68z662). L, M The content of cholesterol components were measured by the Cholesterol Assay Kit in indicated groups (n = 5). N–P Representative images of Teffs stained for β-galactosidase (arrows) after co-cultured with Treg cells (N), scale bars: 50 μm; quantitation of β-galactosidase-positive Teffs were shown (n = 3) (O, P). Data represented means ± SD. Statistical difference was evaluated by one-way ANOVA test (B, C, L, M, O, P). Source data are provided as a Source Data file. (*P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001).