Fig. 3

Comparison of densities of LAG-3, FGL1, PD-L1 and CD8⁺ T cells in HCC tissues and adjacent normal liver tissues. Representative images of FGL1, LAG-3, PD-L1, CD8 and six-colour merge in one pair of HCC case and adjacent normal liver tissue (a–e). The densities of FGL1 and LAG-3⁺cells were significantly increased in tumor tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues (f, g). The levels of PD-L1 and CD8⁺ T cells were significantly reduced in tumor samples compared to adjacent normal samples (h, i). The LAG-3/CD8 ratio was significantly elevated in tumor tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues (j). P values were determined by the Mann–Whitney U test