Fig. 4

Aging differentially regulates intracellular cytotoxic molecules in EM CD103+ and CD103-CD8+ T cells. Mixed cell suspensions from EM tissues were stained for the intracellular cytotoxic molecules perforin, granzyme A and granzyme B prior to analysis by flow cytometry. A Percentage positive cells expressing perforin, granzyme A and granzyme B in EM CD103+ (grey circle) and CD103- (black square) CD8+ T cells (n = 27). B Correlation between age and the ratio of Granzyme A/Granzyme B in EM CD103+ (left) or CD103- (right) CD8+ T cells (n = 27). C, D Correlation between age and the percentage positive cells of perforin (left), granzyme A (right) and granzyme B (middle) in EM CD103 + CD8+ T cells (C) or in CD103-CD8+ T cells (D) from pre- (black circle; n = 10) and post-menopausal (white circle; n = 17) women. Each dot represents a different patient. Mean ± SEM are shown. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001; Friedman test followed by Dunns post-test (A), Spearman test (B-D)