Figure 4.

Co-assembly of CD4+ T cell epitopes (Ag85B) with CD8+ T cell epitopes (TB10.4 or ESAT6) induces robust CD4+ T cell recall responses. Schematic depicts helper function of cytokines produced by CD4+ T cells (A). Total numbers of single positive cells for IL-2 (B) and the proliferation marker Ki-67 (C) following ex vivo stimulation of lymphocytes isolated from popliteal lymph node 90 days post immunization with Ag85B in mice vaccinated with co-assembled nanofibers of ESAT6-Ag85B or TB10.4-Ag85B. Higher numbers of IL-2-producing CD4+ T cells were detected in co-assembled formulation of TB10.4-Ag85B compared to ESAT6-Ag85B, while proliferative responses were similar in both vaccine groups. *p < 0.05, by ANOVA by Tukey’s post-hoc test.