Fig. 1.

IL-2 and/or IL-10 addition significantly improved the survival of TCR-stimulated CD8⁺ T cells. (A) Serum IL-2 and IL-10 levels in age-matched healthy controls and breast cancer (BC) patients, measured with ELISA in triplicate experiments. The statistical differences between the healthy and the BC groups were examined by t-test with Welch’s correction. (B) Non-apoptotic cells were gated as annexin V-negative cells in CD8⁺ T cells. Cells shown were gated as live CD3⁺CD4⁻CD8⁺ cells in TCR-stimulated sample. (C) The percentage of viable CD8⁺ T cells (annexin V-negative) after 24 h (black bar) or 72 h (gray bar) in unstimulated media or after TCR-stimulation (anti-CD3/CD28 at 3 μg/mL each). The statistical difference between each experimental group and the corresponding None control group was examined using two-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s test. Bars represent SEM. ns: not significant. **P < 0.01. ***P < 0.001.