HK2 deletion displayed minimal effects on CD4 T cell responses but higher proliferation upon ocular infection with HSV-1.

<p>WT and HK2 KO animals were infected with 1 x 10⁴ PFU of HSV-RE. (A) Individual eye scores of stromal keratitis lesion severity on day 15 pi. (B) Representative histogram showing the number of total CD4+ T cells infiltrating the cornea at day 15 pi (C) Pool of corneas were stimulated with PMA/Ionomycin, representative histogram showing the number of Th1 (Live CD4+ IFN-γ) cells and Treg (Live CD4+ Foxp3) cells in the cornea at day 15 pi. (D) DLN were stimulated with PMA/Ionomycin, representative FACS plots and histogram showing frequency and number of Th1 (live CD4+ IFN-γ^pos) and Treg (live CD4+ Foxp3^pos). Gated based on the Unstimulated control. (E) Representative FACS plots and histogram showing frequency of proliferating (Ki-67^pos) effector (Live CD4+ Foxp3^neg) and regulatory T cells (Live CD4+ Foxp3^pos). Gated based on the Isotype. Data represents the mean ± SEM of more than 3 independent experiments (n = 3–10 mice/group). P≤0.05(*).