Fig 3. Cross-reactive CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells obtained from Ad vector immunized mice proliferate in HCV antigens-dependent manner.

Splenocytes obtained from Ad vector immunized mice were stimulated ex vivo with various recombinant HCV antigens (core, NS3, NS4 and NS5) or their selected respective peptides (at 5 μg/ml each), and analyzed by flow cytometry. Proliferation of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells stimulated ex vivo with: (A) HCV proteins; (B) Representative peptides derived from HCV proteins using the CFSE-based assay (loss of CFSE due to cell division represented by shift of peak of CFSE⁺ T cells towards left). Data are obtained from a pool (n = 5) of spleen cells and are representative of two independent experiments.