FIGURE 3.

Comparison of ex vivo expression of NK cell markers and receptors in HCMV⁻ and HCMV⁺ donors. PBMCs were analyzed ex vivo for surface expression of CD56, CD57, CD16, NKG2C, and NKG2A, as shown by representative flow cytometry plots (A). Proportions of total NK cells in the CD56^bright, CD56^dimCD57⁻, CD56^dimCD57^int, and CD56^dimCD57⁺ subsets were compared between HCMV⁻ and HCMV⁺ donors (B), as was expression of CD16 (C), NKG2C (D), NKG2A (E), and CD57/NKG2C (F, CD56^dim only). The percentages of cells expressing each marker in HCMV⁻ (−) and HCMV⁺ (+) donors were compared using two-tailed Mann–Whitney U tests. Each data point represents one donor, n = 152; bar graphs denote medians. ****p ≤ 0.0001, ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.