Comparison of the frequencies of DNT cell subsets in longitudinal and cross-sectional studies.

<p>(A) Flow-cytometry dot plots show the strategy for identifying the αβ DNT cells and γδ DNT cells. (B) The frequencies of γδ DNT cells in peripheral blood CD3⁺ T cells were compared for responders (Resp, n = 20) and non-responders (Non-resp, n = 31) at different time points during 52 weeks of telbivudine therapy using the Mann-Whitney U test by pairs. (C) Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis shows that either baseline γδ DNT cell frequencies or HBV DNA levels predicts the non-responders after 52 weeks of telbivudine therapy. (D) The virologic relapse rates after 52 weeks off treatment were compared between the patients with baseline γδ DNT cell frequency of >7.65% (n = 7) and <7.65% (n = 9) using χ² test (Fisher’s exact test). (E) The frequencies of γδ DNT cells were compared in the IT, CHB, IC and HC groups using the Mann-Whitney <i>U</i> compared groups by pairs. (B, D) Data plots show the median, interquartile range (IQR), and range. αβ DNT cells, TCRαβ⁺CD4⁻ CD8⁻ T cells; γδ DNT cells, TCRγδ⁺CD4⁻CD8⁻ T cells; AUC, area under the curve; CI, confidence interval; CHB, chronic hepatitis B; DNT cells, double-negative T cells; HC, healthy controls; IC, inactive carriers; IT, immune tolerant carriers.