Fig. 4

The low frequency of circulating CTLA4⁺CD4⁺CXCR5⁻FOXP3⁺ T cells is associated with virological response in CHB patients. (A) The frequency of circulating CD4⁺CXCR5⁻FOXP3⁺ T cells among all subjects (grey, n = 15), CR (red, n = 5), and NCR (blue, n = 10) groups at weeks 0, 12, 24, and 52. (B, C, D) The production of ki67 and indicated molecules in CD4⁺CXCR5⁻FOXP3⁺ T cells among three groups at indicated time points. (E) Correlation analysis between serum HBV DNA and the frequency of CTLA4⁺CD4⁺CXCR5⁻FOXP3⁺ T cells at all time points (left), and serum levels of HBV DNA at week 52 and the frequency of CTLA4⁺CD4⁺CXCR5⁻FOXP3⁺ T cells at week 12 (right). (F) ROC curves of the frequencies of CD4⁺CXCR5⁻FOXP3⁺ T cells and CTLA4 at week 12 to predict Telbividine-treatment response. Mann–Whitney U test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. AUROC, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve; CR, complete response; NCR, non-complete response; ROC, receiver operating characteristic