Fig. 3

Effects of immunosuppressive treatment on CD244 (CD28null) and FOXP3 expressing cells in muscle tissue. Lower number of T cells (CD3+ cells) was seen in post-treatment muscle tissue compare to muscle tissue obtained before treatment (a) while the number of CD244+ cell/mm² did not change significantly post-treatment (b). Representative staining displaying remaining CD3+ cells in muscle tissue obtained post-treatment (c) and persistence of CD244+ cells among CD3+ T cells in the consecutive muscle biopsy section are shown (d). The number of FOXP3+ cells was lower post-treatment in comparison with before treatment (e). The CD244/CD3 proportion increased in post-treatment muscle tissue (f) while the FOXP3/CD3 proportion did not change significantly (g). At the individual patient level, a majority (9/14) of patients displayed increases in CD244/CD3 proportion post-treatment (h) while the FOXP3/CD3 proportion was unchanged or lower for the majority of patients (10/14) (i). The relative proportion of CD244/FOXP3 increased for 7, remained unchanged for 4 and decreased for 3 patients post-treatment (j). *p < 0.05. ns non-significant