Figure 5.

CD39⁺Tregs inhibit generation and differentiation of Th17 cells. The representative dot plots showing isolated pleural CD39⁺CD4⁺CD25^high T cells are almost CD39 positive (A) and CD127 negative (B). Naïve CD4⁺ T cells isolated from malignant pleural effusion (open bars) and blood (closed bars) were cultured in the conditions described in Figure 4 with indicated ratio of CD39⁺Tregs, Th17 cell numbers were determined by flow cytometry (C) and IL-17 concentrations in the cultured supernatants were determined by ELISA (D). The results are reported as mean ± SEM from 5 independent experiments. * p < 0.01 compared with naïve CD4⁺ T cells without CD39⁺Tregs.