Thiopurine use associated with reduced B and natural killer cells in inflammatory bowel disease

Figure 2 Thiopurines do not alter CD4+ helper T cell subsets. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy controls (open grey circles) vs inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients on (black triangles) vs not on thiopurines (grey squares) were stimulated and stained for ICCS as per materials and methods. As CD4 is down-regulated in response to PMA[37], CD3+, CD8- T cells were analyzed as a surrogate for CD4 expression. The percent of such cells expressing IL-17 (A, Th17 cells), IFN-γ (B, Th1 cells) or both (C, Th1/17 cells), and the percent of CD3+, CD8+ T cells expressing IFN-γ (D) is shown for each cohort. P values reflect two-tailed Mann-Whitney non-parametric comparisons.