Fig 2. Systemic inflammatory changes in the blood and spleen.
Flow cytometry of lymphocytes to characterise inflammatory changes in the blood and spleen was carried out on day 7 post-1st paclitaxel (PTX), oxaliplatin (OXA) or saline (control) injection. Mononuclear cells were first gated (A), followed by consecutive gating of singlets (B). For blood, singlets were further gated for CD45+ lymphocytes (C). Representative flow cytometric plots and column graphs of CD45+CD4+ (D) and CD45+CD8+ (E) T-cell populations in the blood (expressed as a percentage of CD45+ lymphocyte singlets), and total IL-4+ lymphocytes (F) in the spleen (expressed as a percentage of lymphocyte singlets). Significant increase in CD45+CD4+ and CD45+CD8+ T-cell populations in the blood of PTX- and OXA- treated mice (n = 10), and IL-4 positive lymphocytes in the spleens of OXA-treated mice (n = 7–9) compared to saline controls were found. *P<0.05; **P<0.01; ***P<0.001 indicate significant difference between PTX/OXA and saline controls. One-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni's multiple comparison’s test. Data are expressed as mean±SEM.