Fig. 4.

Addition of autologous CLL B cells to purified CD4⁺ T cells enhances production of IL-17F. Purified CD4⁺ T cells from a subset of CLL patients (n = 3) were cultured for 7 days on anti-CD3/CD28-coated plates alone or together with purified autologous CLL B cells at a B:T ratio of 10:1 and various Th17-promoting cytokine combinations (IL-6, IL-1β, IL-1β + IL-6, IL-6 + IL-1β + IL-23; all cytokines at 10 ng/ml). At day 7, supernatants were collected and analyzed for IL-17F by ELISA. Data are presented as fold change relative to CD4⁺ T cell only cultures (no cytokine additions). Comparisons were made using two-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post hoc tests to compare effects of addition of CLL B cells and various cytokine treatments. (***p = 0.001)