FIG 3.
CD161+ CD4+ T cells have higher survival and proliferative abilities than CD161− CD4+ T cells. (A) Representative FACS plots showing c-kit and Bcl-2 expression. (B) c-kit expression on CD161-positive and -negative CD4+ T cells from healthy donors (n = 17) or ART-treated HIV-1-infected subjects (n = 7). (C and D) The percentage (C) and mean fluorescence intensity (D) of Bcl-2 expression by cells from 8 healthy individuals or 9 ART-treated HIV-1-infected donors. (E) OX40 expression in bulk or memory CD4+ T cells under different stimuli. PBMCs from healthy donors (n = 6) were treated without a stimulus or with anti-CD3/CD28 for 3 days and IL-7 or IL-15 for 6 days, and OX40 expression by bulk or memory CD4+ T cell subsets was measured. (F) IL-7 receptor (CD127) expression on CD4+ T cell subsets. Results are for healthy donors (n = 13) and HIV-1-infected individuals under ART (n = 4). (G) Proliferation of CD161-positive and -negative CD4+ T cells under different stimuli in vitro. PBMCs from healthy donors (n = 8) were loaded with carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) and cultured for 6 days with the indicated stimulus. The percentages of CFSElo cells among CD161-positive and -negative CD4+ T cells are shown. The data represent the mean ± SEM. P values were determined by the Mann-Whitney U test or Student’s t test. ns, not significant; *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01; ***, P < 0.001.