Dominant p11C-specific population contained lower frequency of cytokine- and chemokine-producing cells than subdominant epitope-specific populations.

<p>PBMCs from monkeys chronically-infected with either SIVmac251 (n = 4) or SIVsmE660 (n = 5) were stimulated with either p11C, p54AS/E660, or p68A peptides and intracellular staining was used to assess production of the chemokine MIP-1β and cytokines IFNγ, TNFα, and IL-2. Bars represent mean ± SEM. A) Individual cytokine and chemokine production. Top, SIVmac251. Bottom, SIVsmE660. B) Polyfunctional analysis. Positivity for each cytokine/chemokine is indicated by the dots below the bar graph. Vertical bars are grouped into 4, 3, 2 or 1 function (indicated by the pink, light blue, purple, and orange horizontal bars, respectively). C) Polyfunctionality charts. Left, SIVmac251. Right, SIVsmE660. Each slice represents the percentage of tetramer-positive cells expressing between 1 and 4 functions. Data were collected between weeks 36–42 for SIVmac251 and 14–25 for SIVsmE660.