Fig. 4.

HBV-specific T cell responses at baseline and during follow-up. (A) Percentage of patients with baseline HBV-specific T cell responses (≥0.1% positive cells after subtracting the unstimulated control) and hierarchy of the T cell responses according to the different overlapping peptide (OLP) pools. (B) Degranulating CD8+ T cells after in vitro expansion with core OLP. (C) Polyfunctional T cells co-expressing IFNγ and TNFα after core OLP stimulation at baseline and 48 weeks after treatment withdrawal. Bars represent the median and dotted lines the 0.1% cut-off for positive T cell responses minus the unstimulated control (B and C). Chi-square test (A) and Welch’s t test (B, C) were used to compare groups, ∗p <0.05, ∗∗p <0.01.