Fig. 4

Frequency of polyfunctional CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-lymphocytes following MDDCT. PBMCs were collected upon administration of the first MDDCT dose (day 0), upon dose 2 (day 15), and dose 3 administration (day 30), as well as during the post-therapy follow-up (day 120). Isolated PBMCs were stimulated in vitro with the autologous Gag peptides that were used for MDDCT. Production of IFN-γ, IL-2, and TNF by CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-lymphocytes was evaluated by flow cytometry. Panels A,B) Frequency of cells expressing one or more immune-mediator cytokine (IL-2, TNF and IFN-γ). Pie charts show the relative percentage, among cells expressing at least one cytokine, of CD4⁺ (A) and CD8⁺ (B) T-lymphocytes expressing one, two, or three cytokines. Panels C, D) Bar graphs showing the absolute frequency of CD4⁺ (C) and CD8⁺ (D) T-lymphocytes expressing each cytokine combination analyzed. Data are expressed as mean ± SD and were analyzed by two-way ANOVA. (N of patients for each dose = 10)