Fig 1. Bcl-3 deficient and wild-type CD8⁺ T cells show comparable overall anti-viral responses against acute LCMV infection.

(A-D) Mixed bone marrow chimeric mice were analyzed 8 days after LCMV Armstrong infection. Representative contour plots show proportions of H-2D^b-GP33 tetramer-specific cells among WT or Bcl-3 KO CD8⁺ T cells in spleen (A; left panels) and mesenteric lymph node (mLN) (B; left panels). Right graphs summarize data from three independent experiments with n = 15 mice for each CD8⁺ T cell genotype. Proportions of IFN-γ (C) and IFN-γ + TNF-α (D) secreting WT or Bcl3^-/- CD8⁺ T cells upon GP33 peptide stimulation of splenocytes ex vivo. Graphs summarize data from three independent experiments with n = 15 mice for each CD8⁺ T cell genotype. (E) Absolute number of H-2D^b-GP33⁺ CD8⁺ T cells in spleens of Bcl3^fl/fl CD8α Cre or Bcl3^fl/fl (control) mice. Data are averages of three independent experiments with n = 14–16 mice for each genotype. Error bars indicate standard error of the mean (SEM). ns = not significant.