Fig. 3. T cell Abca1/Abcg1 deficiency increases T cell apoptosis.

Splenic CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells were isolated from Ldlr^−/−, T-Abc^dkoLdlr^−/−, control (Ldlr^+/+), and T-Abc^dko mice fed chow diet. a–d T cells were stimulated with αCD3 and interleukin 2 (IL-2) for 12 h and stained for cleaved caspase 3/7. a CD4⁺ (p = 0.0045) and (b) CD8⁺ (p = 0.0475) T cells acquiring cleaved caspase 3/7 staining over time. n = 4 Ldlr^−/− and n = 4 T-Abc^dkoLdlr^−/− mice. c Representative flow cytometry plots of cleaved caspase 3/7 in CD4⁺ (p = 0.0101) and CD8⁺ (p = 0.0315) T cells gated as in Supplementary Fig. 12d, and (d) quantification. n = 5 control and n = 5 T-Abc^dko mice. e, f CD4⁺ T cells were stimulated with αCD3/αCD28 beads, IL-2, and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) for 72 h. e Representative flow cytometry plots of CD25⁺Foxp3⁺T_regulatory cells (T_reg) gated as in Supplementary Fig. 12h, and (f) quantification (p = 0.00096) as a percentage of CD4⁺ T cells. n = 6 Ldlr^−/− and n = 5 T-Abc^dkoLdlr^−/− mice. g–l T cells were stimulated with αCD3/IL-2 for 12 h, fixed, permeabilized, and stained for B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl2). g Representative flow cytometry plots of CD4⁺Bcl2⁺ and CD4⁺Bcl2⁻ T cells gated as in Supplementary Fig. 13c. h Quantification of CD4⁺Bcl2⁺ (p = 0.045) and CD4⁺Bcl2⁻ (p = 0.025) T cells as a percentage of CD4⁺ T cells. n = 4 Ldlr^−/− and n = 4 T-Abc^dkoLdlr^−/−. Same staining for CD8⁺ T cells as in (g) in combination with CD44 and CD62L. Representative flow cytometry plots of CD8⁺Bcl2⁺, CD8⁺Bcl2⁻ (i), CD8⁺T_mem/effBcl2⁺, and CD8⁺T_mem/effBcl2⁻ cells (k) gated as in Supplementary Fig. 8a. Quantification of CD8⁺Bcl2⁺ (p = 0.00015) and CD8⁺Bcl2⁻ (p < 0.000001) cells as a percentage of CD8⁺ T cells (j) and CD8⁺T_mem/effBcl2⁺ (p = 0.0017) and CD8⁺T_mem/effBcl2⁻ (p = 0.0041) cells as a percentage of CD8⁺T_mem/eff cells (l). n = 4 Ldlr^−/− and n = 3 T-Abc^dkoLdlr^−/−. f, h, j, l Data were corrected for their respective isotype controls. For all panels, error bars represent SEM. Biologically independent samples were included. p value was determined by unpaired two-tailed Student’s t test. For (a, b), p value is based on area under the curve. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.