Fig. 3

Effect of indomethacin on TB antigen induced FOXP3+CD25++ CD4+ Tregs. PBMCs were obtained from patients with active TB (n = 17) prior to treatment and left unstimulated (unstim) or stimulated for 36 h with ESAT-6 or Ag85 without (open boxes) or with (hatched boxes) addition of indomethacin. The figures show percentages of FOXP3+CD25++ (a) and FOXP3 median fluorescence intensity (MFI) (b) in the CD4+ cells. P- values were calculated by Wilcoxon matched pairs test. Plots are shown as box plots together with individual data points with median, IQR and minimum/maximum values. Significant changes between stimulated samples with and without indomethacin are denoted with p-values in figure. Levels of FOXP3+CD25++ CD4+ T cells and FOXP3 MFI were significantly upregulated upon stimulation with both E6 and Ag85 (p < 0.01, values not shown in figure)