Profiling of Peripheral TRBV and CD4+CD25+ Treg in CHB Patients with HBeAg SC during TDF Treatment

Figure 2

Association between the ALT levels and the Treg frequencies in HBeAg seroconverting (SC) and non-SC subjects during TDF treatment. (a) Peripheral CD4+CD25+ Treg frequencies in HBeAg SC, non-SC subjects, and healthy control (HC). Data are expressed as a scatter diagram in which the midpoint of the black solid line is the mean of Treg frequencies (Treg per CD4+ T cells, %), and the upper and lower horizontal lines represent the standard deviation (SD). The values of multiple comparisons were calculated using the Kruskal–Wallis nonparametric test. (b) Representative scatter plots were obtained by flow cytometry labeled antibodies against CD4 and CD25. The number of CD4+CD25high (CD4+CD25high+) Treg cells per CD4+ T cells was evaluated (fluorescence intensity of ). (c) Longitudinal changes of CD4+CD25+ Treg percentages in HBeAg SC and non-SC subjects during TDF treatment. and when comparing to those in SC or non-SC subjects at baseline, respectively. # and ## when comparing the Treg percentages between the HBeAg SC and non-SC subjects at the same treatment time point using nonparametric tests. Association is between the ALT levels and Treg percentages in HBeAg SC (d) and non-SC (e) subjects. The -axis indicates the different treatment time points; (d) and (e) on the left -axis show the ALT levels, and the right -axis shows the Tregs per CD4+ T cells (%). Correlations were analyzed using a Spearman correlation analysis.

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