Figure 4

Generation and differentiation of human CD39⁺Tregs and Th17 cells from malignant pleural effusion regulated by different cytokines. (A) The representative dot plots of freshly isolated naïve CD4⁺ T cells from malignant pleural effusion were determined for expression of CD39 and IL-17 by flow cytometry. (B) The representative dot plots of CD39⁺Tregs and Th17 cells detected in naïve CD4⁺ T cells after culturing in presence both IL-1β and IL-6. (C) The representative dot plots of CD39⁺Tregs and Th17 cells detected in naïve CD4⁺ T cells after culturing in presence of TGF-β1. (D) The mean ± SEM of CD39⁺Tregs (open bars) and Th17 cells (closed bars) detected in naïve CD4⁺ T cells from 5 independent experiments. The purified naïve CD4⁺ T cells were stimulated with plate-bound anti-CD3 and soluble anti-CD28 mAbs in the presence of the indicated cytokines, either alone or in various combinations for 7 d. * p < 0.01 compared with their corresponding controls with no cytokines.