Fig. 4

TNF-α induces expression of Tim-3 on human NK cells in vitro. a Peripheral NK cells purified from healthy donors were treated with recombinant human TGF-β (10 ng/mL) or TNF-α (5 ng/mL) in the presence of IL-2 for 48 h. The surface expression of Tim-3 was measured by flow cytometry. b Human NK cells were stimulated with different concentrations of TNF-α for 48 h before flow cytometry analysis. c Human NK cells were stimulated with 5 ng/mL TNF-α for the indicated time before flow cytometry analysis. NK cells were treated with TNF-α inhibitor or NF-κB inhibitor in the presence of 5 ng/mL TNF-α for 48 h. Tim-3 protein (d) or mRNA (e) was measured by flow cytometry or qPCR analysis, respectively. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ns, not significant