Figure 4.

Blockade of the BTLA increased the frequency of cytokine-producing CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells. (a) The capacity of circulating CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cell subsets to produce IFN-γ ex vivo (n = 12 for HCC, n = 8 for HD). (b and c) Peripheral blood lymphocytes from HCC patients and healthy donors were incubated overnight with anti-BTLA mAb (αBTLA, red line) or an isotype control antibody (IgG, black line) before evaluating intracellular cytokine production (n = 3 for HCC, n = 3 for HD). The gates showed the frequency of IFN-γ-producing cells among circulating CD4⁺ or CD8⁺ T cells (b). Results are expressed as mean ± SEM. ^∗P < 0.05.