Figure 1.
TGF-β-15 specific responses in patients with pancreatic cancer (PC) PBMC. (A) PBMC from patients with PC were stimulated once in vitro with TGF-β-15 peptide and interleukin-2, and incubated for 14 days before plating in interferon-γ enzyme-linked immunospot assays at a concentration of 2×105 cells/well with overnight incubation. The experiments were performed in triplicates with negative control wells left unstimulated. The responses were characterized in 32 samples isolated at baseline (left) and in 31 samples isolated after four series of treatment (right). (B) Representative pictures of a response at baseline (top) and a response after four series of treatment (bottom). (C) The normalized counts from A were used to compare the amplitude of response in patients with clinical benefit and response in patients with progressive disease. Normalization of the data was performed by subtracting the mean spot count of the control wells from the mean spot count of peptide stimulated wells. Error bar depicts SEM. Statistics made using Mann-Whitney test. PBMC, peripheral blood mononuclear cell; TGF-β, transforming growth factor-β.