Purified CD14+ monocytes from chronically HCV-infected HBV-NR (n=22) and HBV-R (n=25)
or HS (n=16) were stimulated with or without TLR ligands LPS and R848 for 6h, then immune stained
with conjugated antibodies against Tim-3, IL-12p35 and IL-23p19, followed by flow cytometric
analysis. A) The representative overlay histogram of Tim-3 expression on
CD14+ monocytes from HCV-infected HBV-NR (red line) and HBV-R (blue line) versus HS
(black line) against isotype control (grey filled area) is shown on the left. The percentage of
positive cell frequency and the MFI of Tim-3 expression level on gated CD14+ cells in
HCV-infected HBV-NR versus HBV-R or HS are shown on the right. Each symbol represents an individual
subject, and the horizontal bars represent median values. *P<0.05; **P<0.01;
***P<0.001. B) The correlation between Tim-3 expression and the ratio of
IL-23p19/IL-12p35 production by CD14+ monocytes from HBV-NR and HBV-R of HCV-infected
individuals as well as HS, analysis by Pearson Correlation with 2-tailed significance.
*P<0.05.