Figure 4.

T-bet expression in stimulated CD56^bright NK cells is reduced after trauma. PBMC from control subjects (c) or patients (t) were stimulated with S. aureus and the expression of intracellular T-bet was examined. (A) Representative histogram of T-bet expression in gated CD3⁻CD56^bright NK cells. (B) Cumulative data of T-bet expression in CD56^bright NK cells (n = 13). (C,D) Recombinant IL-15 (C; n = 9) or SB431542 (D; n = 9) was added during stimulation of PBMC from trauma patients with S. aureus [the values for cells stimulated with S. aureus alone are also shown in (B)]. Horizontal lines indicate the median/interquartile range. Statistical differences between control and trauma (B) were tested using the Mann-Whitney U-test, differences between different culture conditions (C,D) were tested using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. *p < 0.05 and **p < 0.01. iso, isotype control.