Fig. 3. Lack of Eomes in the TME of TCL1 AT mice leads to impaired expansion of CD8⁺ T cells and enhanced CLL development.

Rag2^−/− mice were irradiated and transplanted i.v. with 1 × 10⁶ bone marrow cells of wild-type (WT, n = 7) or Eomes^−/− (n = 7) origin on day -1, and after reconstitution of the hematopoietic system, with 1 × 10⁷ leukemic cells of Eµ-TCL1 mice. Blood and spleen samples of these mice were analyzed by flow cytometry after 4 weeks. A Absolute numbers of CD5⁺ CD19⁺ CLL cells in blood, and B in spleen. C Spleen weights of leukemic Rag2^−/− mice injected with WT or Eomes^−/− CD8⁺ T cells. D Absolute counts of CD8⁺ T cells (right) and relative counts per CLL cell (left) in spleen. E Representative histogram and percentages of KI67⁺ cells out of total CD8⁺ T cells in spleen. F Representative histogram and percentages of PD-1⁺ cells out of total CD8⁺ T cells in spleen. Graphs show mean with SEM, with each dot representing one mouse. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann–Whitney’s test. *p value < 0.05, **p value < 0.01, ***p value < 0.001.