CTLs but not NK cells are activated after brain invasion. A, Gating strategy for analysis of CD69 expression in CTLs. The dot plots on top indicate gating of CD8+ cells, and bottom plots show the assessment of CD69-expressing CD8+ cells. B, Gating strategy for analysis of B220 expression on NK1.1+ cells. The dot plots on top indicate gating of NK cells, and bottom plots show the assessment of B220-expressing NK cells. C, CD69, CD44, and CD62L mean fluorescence intensity (MFI, arbitrary units) of splenic and cerebral CTLs isolated 7 d after MCAO or sham operation (5 individual experiments with 5 pooled animals per group in each experiment; *p < 0.05). B220, NKp46, and CD11c (D) and Tbet and Eomes (E) MFI of splenic and brain-invading NK cells isolated 7 d after MCAO or sham operation (5 individual experiments with 5 pooled animals per group in each experiment). F, Ratio of in vitro IFN-γ-producing CTLs and NK cells isolated from spleen and brain 7 d after MCAO (4 individual experiments with 5 pooled animals per group in each experiment; *p < 0.05). Data in C–F are expressed as mean ± SD.