Percentage of CD8⁺ T cells expressing CD161⁺⁺ across different study groups.

<p><b>(A)</b> Scatter plots (gated on the CD3⁺ T-cell population) show co-staining with CD8 and CD161 on representative samples from 5 different clinical groups: CPTNs, CPTPs, HVTNs, HVTPs, and HCs. <b>(B)</b> CD161⁺⁺CD8⁺ T (MAIT cell) frequency in HCs showed significantly increased MAIT cell levels compared to other study groups. <b>(C)</b> CD161⁺CD8⁺ T cell frequency showed no difference across the different study groups. <b>(D-E)</b> CD161⁺⁺CD8⁺ MAIT cell frequency in subjects with HIV mono-infection and HIV/TB co-infection shows no significant correlation with either HIV plasma viral load (copies/mL) or CD4⁺ T-cell counts (cells/mm³). All graphs show median (red bars) and range (blue whiskers); <i>P</i> values are reported for two-sided Mann-Whitney tests with threshold for significance <i>P</i> = 0.025 after Bonferroni correction for 2 comparisons. Correlations between MAIT cell frequency and markers of HIV disease progression were assessed using two-tailed non-parametric Spearman’s rank. (Note: TN, treatment naïve; TP, treatment positive; HC, healthy control; CP, HIV/TB co-infection; HV, HIV mono-infection).