Fig. 5: Intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) was performed to evaluate the proportions of T cells producing and secreting IFN-γ, IL-2, and TNF-α induced by different vaccines. | npj Vaccines

Fig. 5: Intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) was performed to evaluate the proportions of T cells producing and secreting IFN-γ, IL-2, and TNF-α induced by different vaccines.

From: A novel nanoparticle vaccine displaying multistage tuberculosis antigens confers protection in mice infected with H37Rv

Fig. 5

C57BL/6 mice were immunized twice at 3-week intervals, and splenocytes were collected 6 weeks after the initial immunization for ICS analysis. a Under stimulation with a mixture of 85A, EC and RT antigens at equal concentrations, the proportions of IFN-γ⁺, IL-2⁺and TNF-α⁺ CD4⁺T cells were evaluated using an ICS assay in the nanoparticle mixture group (85A-NP: EC-NP: RT-NP) and the recombinant antigen mixture group (85A: EC: RT), with comprehensive comparisons made against individual nanoparticle groups (85A-NP, EC-NP and RT-NP), M72-like and saline groups. b Activation marker combinations overall. c Polyfunctional CD4⁺T-cell frequencies overall. d Polyfunctionality proportions by different groups are presented as mean percentages. Bars are presented as the mean ± SEM, with n = 6 mice per group. Statistical analysis was performed using two-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparison test. Ns indicates no statistical significance (P > 0.05), while *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 and ****P < 0.0001 denote significant differences.

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