Figure 3.

The fraction of Foxp3+ expressing CD4+CTLA4+ cells is progressively increasing in prostate cancer patients. (A) CTLA4 expressing CD4+ T cells; (B) CTLA4 expressing CD4+ effector T cells; (C) CTLA4 expressing Foxp3+ Tregs; (D) distribution of Foxp3+ and Foxp3− cells within the CTLA4+CD4+ lymphocytes. (E) CTLA4 expression level on CD4+Foxp3+ Tregs as determined by MFI. Blood collection, processing and immune phenotyping were carried out as described in the Materials and Methods at the indicated time points relative to brachytherapy. n (healthy controls) = 14, n (cancer patients) = 12–18. In Figure (D): red asterisks show significant changes compared to healthy controls and black asterisks represent significant changes compared to pre-treatment values. Significant differences were indicated with * (p < 0.05) and ** (p < 0.01). MFI: median fluorescent intensity.