Fig. 3.

CLL PBMCs exhibit higher IL-17F-expressing Th17 cells after 7 days in vitro activation under Th17-polarizing conditions than PBMCs from healthy donors. a PBMCs from CLL patients (n = 12) and healthy age-matched control subjects (n = 5) were stimulated in vitro with anti-CD3/CD28 mAbs for 7 days in the presence of a Th17-promoting cocktail (IL1 + IL23). At day 7, cells were collected, stained for surface markers and intracellular IL-17F (or IL-17A) and analyzed by flow cytometry. Statistical significance was examined by the Mann–Whitney test. b Comparison of IL-17F-expressing CD4⁺ T cell percentages for individual CLL patients (n = 12; left panel) and age-matched healthy subjects (n = 5; right panel) pre- and post-stimulation by TCR cross-linking for 7 days in the presence of a Th17-promoting cocktail (IL1 + IL23). Statistical significance was examined by the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test