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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Dec 1.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Immunol. 2013 Nov 15;13(12):862–874. doi: 10.1038/nri3552

Figure 2. Immunohistochemical staining for CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and HLA-DR in spleens from septic or trauma patients.

Figure 2

Spleens from patients with sepsis or patients requiring splenectomy for traumatic injury were obtained and underwent immunostaining for CD4+ or CD8+ T cells or HLA-DR. Sepsis induces apoptotic death of splenocytes including CD4+ and CD8+ T cells leading to profound depletion of these critical immune effector cells. Note the loss in periarteriolar CD4+ and CD8+ T cells (stained a brown color) in spleens from septic versus trauma patients (200X). The loss in CD4+ T cells in patients with sepsis is frequently as severe as occurs in patients with AIDS. The number of HLA-DR+ cells (predominantly B cells) and the levels of HLA-DR expression (as determined by the intensity of the staining) are both decreased in septic versus trauma patients. In contrast to the spleen from trauma patients, the spleen from septic patients also demonstrated an increase in the expression of HLA-DR by capillary endothelial cells.