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. 2017 Jun 1;12(6):e0178193. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178193

Fig 1. Highest CD4 T cell recovery from endocervical cytobrushes relative to endocervical flocked swabs and cervicovaginal lavages.

Fig 1

(A) Example analysis of human genital mucosal specimens from 9 women sequentially sampled for cervicovaginal lavage (CVL), flocked swab (FS) followed by two consecutive cytobrushes (CB1, CB2). The cellular components were isolated by centrifugation and incubated with antibodies to identify T lymphocyte subsets at 4°C for 30 minutes. Whole blood from the same individual was stained as a positive control. Scatter plots show data for nine participants over two-three independent visits at either the follicular or the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Participants are color coded for correlation plots. (B) CD4 T cell yields significantly higher from CB sampling relative to either CVL or FS, CD4 T cell yields from CB are not associated with yields from CVL. (C) CD4 T cell yields from FS correlate with CB yields, and CB1 and CB2 yields strongly correlate with each other. (D) CD4 T cell distribution profile across sampling methods, frequency of CD4+ cells similar and correlated between CB1 and CB2. ***, p < 0.001; **, p < 0.01, *, p < 0.05.