Fig. 3.

The strength of TAA-specific T cell responses at baseline in cirrhosis patients that developed HCC following DAA therapy. a Schematic representation of the parent cirrhotic cohort and delineated subgroups of “cirrh-to No HCC” and “cirrh-to-HCC” whose T cell responses to GPC-3-specific peptides were specifically compared at baseline. Secretion of IFNγ (b), MIP1-β (c), and TNF (d) by TAA-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells upon 10-day culture in the presence of GPC-3 overlapping peptides. e Proliferative responses of GPC-3-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells measured by a CFSE proliferation assay after 7-day culture. Background responses from unstimulated controls were deducted in all cases. The Mann-Whitney test was used to statistically compare groups. TS, therapy start; Cirrh, cirrhosis; IFNγ, interferon gamma; MIP1-β, macrophage inflammatory protein 1-β; TNF, tumor necrosis factor.