Figure 2.

4-1BB Aptamer-Targeted Downregulation of CD25 in CD8⁺ T Cells Promotes the Acquisition of a Memory Phenotype

Purified CD8⁺ cells from wild-type mice were polyclonally activated with a mixture of CD3 and CD28 antibodies and treated with conjugates three times at 500 nM concentration every 6 hr, starting at 18 hr post activation. (A) 6 days after the last treatment, the levels of Blimp-1, Bcl-6, and Tcf-7 mRNA were assessed by qRT-PCR. (B) Aptamer-siRNA-treated CD8⁺ T cells were incubated in IL-7-containing media, and cell numbers were counted 6 days later. (C) CD62L expression of activated (CD44⁺) CD8⁺ T cells was measured by flow cytometry 6 days after the last treatment (n = 2).