Fig. 5
Aging and menopause differentially regulate the production of TNFα, IL-6 and IFNγ by EM CD8+ T cells. Resting purified EM CD8+ T cells were cultured with or without E2 (5 × 10− 8 M) or P (1 × 10− 7 M) for 48 h. The culture supernatants were collected and assayed for TNFα, IL-6 and IFNγ by Luminex assay. A Constitutive production of TNFα, IL-6 and IFNγ by EM CD8+ T cells after 48 h in the culture (n = 38). B Comparison of pre- (black circle; n = 17) vs. post-menopausal (white circle; n = 21) women constitutive production of TNFα, IL-6 and IFNγ by EM CD8+ T cells after 48 h in the culture. C-E Correlation between age and the production of TNFα (C), IL-6 (D) and IFNγ (E) by EM CD8+ T cells from pre- (n = 17) and post-menopausal (n = 21) women. F Effect of E2 or P on the production of TNFα, IL-6 and IFNγ by EM CD8+ T cells after 48 h in the culture. Graph represents the fold change in TNFα, IL-6 and IFNγ in culture supernatant following E2 or P treatment compared with untreated controls (E2: n = 27; P: n = 21). Each dot represents a single patient. Mean ± SEM are shown. **P < 0.01; Mann–Whitney U-test (B), Spearman test (C-E), Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunns post-test or Friedman test followed by Dunns post-test (F)