Effect of IL-7-treatment on cellular proliferation, apoptosis and Bcl-2 expression in peripheral blood T cells.

<p>(A) Mean levels (± SEM) of cellular proliferation, as measured by expression of the cell-cycling marker Ki67, in CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells freshly isolated from untreated (blue) and IL-7-treated (red) animals. (B) Mean levels (± SEM) of spontaneous apoptosis, as measured by Annexin-V binding, in circulating CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells from untreated (blue) and IL-7-treated (red) animals. (C) Average MFI levels (± SEM) of Bcl-2 expression in circulating CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells from untreated (blue) and IL-7-treated (red) animals. The grey shaded area indicates the IL-7-treatment period. The asterisks denote significant differences between untreated and IL-7-treated animals (* p<0.05, ** p<0.01, by Wilcoxon rank sum test).