Figure 6.
HBsAg-induced and HBVcc-induced NK-reg differentiation through monocytes is mediated by PD-L1/PD-1, HLA-E/CD94. Purified monocytes and NK cells were cocultured for 24 hours with HBsAg (10 μg/mL) or HBVcc (107 copies/mL) in presence of PD-L1, PD-1, HLA-E, CD94, IL-10, TNF-α and TGF-β antibodies. NK cells were identified by CD3 and CD56 staining, and the expression of IL-10 and IFN-γ were examined by intracellular cytokine staining. (A) A representative experiment from five independent experiments is shown. (B) Statistical analysis for the expression of IL-10 and IFN-γ on NK cells. The error bars represent SEM. *p<0.05. HBsAg, hepatitis B surface antigen; HBVcc, cell culture of HBV; IL, interleukin; NK, natural killer; NK-reg, regulatory NK cell; TGF-β, transforming growth factor-β.