Fig. 2: Immune cells are altered in chronic tonsillitis when compared to healthy tonsils.

a, b Phenograph and heatmap show the different clusters’ distributions in the normal and diseased tonsil datasets. c Visual representation and the correlation analysis between Granzyme B and CD68 in one normal tonsil ROI. The correlation between granzyme B and CD68 was found to have Pearson’s correlation coefficient of R = 0.24448 for normal tonsil (n = 56,421 cells) and R = 0.57199 for diseased tonsil (n = 56,421 cells). R values calculate the z-score through the Fisher Z-Transformation, resulting in a p-value < 0.001 (***) indicating a significant statistical difference between them. d Visuals and the correlation plot between Granzyme B and CD68 in one diseased tonsil ROI are shown. e Pictures and the correlation graph between CD4, CD8a, and CD3 in one normal tonsil ROI are presented. f Images and the correlation analysis between CD4, CD8a, and CD3 in one diseased tonsil ROI are demonstrated. g Box plot indicates the intensity distribution for all markers in the dataset for normal (blue) and diseased (red) tonsil at the single-cell level (n = 446,123 cells). The difference in the box plot had a significant p-value < 0.001 (***) by the Kolmogorov–Smirnov statistic (two-sided). The first box covers the central 50%, and the second box extends from the first to cover half of the remaining area (75% overall, 12.5% leftover on each end). The third box covers the remaining area (87.5% overall, 6.25% left on each end). This procedure is repeated until the leftover points are marked as outliers. h Box plot demonstrates the percentage count for all markers in the dataset for normal (blue) and diseased (red) tonsil. Box plots show median first and third quartile, minimum and maximum (excluding outliers).