Figure 3.

The anti-HCC effect of miR-22 is cytotoxic T cell dependent, and miR-22 activates cytotoxic T cells to induce apoptosis of HCC cells

(A) Representative flow cytometry plots and percentage of CD8⁺IFNγ⁺, CD8⁺CD107A⁺, and CD8⁺ naive and EM T cells. Hepatic lymphocytes were isolated from livers of healthy, HCC, and miR-22-treated HCC mice followed by flow cytometry. (n = 6). (B) Study design of anti-CD8 antibody blockade. (C) Representative liver morphology, (D) L/B ratio (n = 6), and (E) percentage of CD8⁺ T cells measured by flow cytometry in studied groups (n = 4). (F) Representative flow cytometry plots of Annexin V/7-AAD staining and apoptosis rates of mouse HCC Hepa1-6 cells co-cultured with hepatic T cells. Hepatic-isolated T cells from healthy livers, HCC, and miR-22-treated HCC were co-cultured with Hepa1-6 at a 1:1 ratio for 36 h. (G) The concentrations of IFNγ, granzyme B, IL17A, and IL6, and in the supernatant were quantified by ELISA. Data are representative of two independent experiments (F and G). Data represent mean ± SD. ∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, ∗∗∗p < 0.001 by one-way ANOVA (A, D, E, F, and G).