Figure 2

Flow cytometry analysis of the numbers of circulating Tregs. PBMC at 5 × 10⁵/tube were stained in duplicate with APC-anti-CD4, FITC-anti-CD25 or isotype-matched controls for 30 min. After being washed, the cells were fixed and permeabilized with Cytofix/Cytoperm. The cells were stained with PE-anti-Foxp3 and the numbers of circulating Tregs were characterized by flow cytometry analysis. Data are representative FACS charts and expressed as the mean values of individual subjects and the difference between groups was analyzed by the Kruskal–Wallis test. (A) Flow cytometry analysis; (B) The numbers of total CD4⁺ T cells, CD4⁺CD25⁻Foxp3⁺, CD4⁺CD25⁺ Foxp3⁺ Tregs, CD4⁺Foxp3⁺ Tregs, CD4⁺Foxp3⁻ effector T cells and the ratios of CD4⁺CD25⁺ Foxp3⁺ Tregs to CD4⁺Foxp3⁻ effector T cells. The horizontal lines indicate the median values for different groups of subjects.