Fig. 2

CD4 T cell subset function varied by TIGIT/CD226 phenotype. a Representative FACS plots showing the multi-parameter strategy for assessing the proliferation and cytokine production from CD4 T cells with different TIGIT/CD226 phenotypes. b, c Both in patients with DM (b) and HCs (c), the proliferation and cytokine production potential were the highest in the TIGIT–CD226+ subset, followed by in the TIGIT+CD226+, TIGIT+CD226−, and TIGIT−CD226− subsets. For the proliferation assay, 5 independent experiments evaluating a total of 9 patients with DM and 5 HCs were carried out; for intracellular cytokine staining, 5 independent experiments evaluating a total 10 patients with DM and 5 HCs were carried out. Data are shown as the mean ± SD, comparisons between DM and HCs were carried out using unpaired two-tailed t tests. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001