Fig. 4

Characterization of major immune cell subsets in peripheral leukocytes as a consequence of PAE. a–e Representative flow cytometry plots and gating strategy to identify immune cell subsets in surgically naive Sac and PAE rats. a The intact/healthy cells were identified based on their light scatter properties. b Only live cells (verified by the absence of viability dye) were included for subsequent analyses. c T cells and B cells were identified by positive expression of CD3 and CD45RA, respectively. The double negative cell population was identified as P1. d Within P1, NK cells were quantified by their expression of CD161. The cell population not expressing CD161 was identified as P2. e P2 cells were further analyzed for the expression of CD11b/c (binds common epitope between CD11b and CD11c) to identify myeloid cells. Bar graphs represent proportions of (f) T cells, (g) B cells, and (h) NK cells in leukocytes collected from the thymus, spleen, lymph nodes, peritoneal cavity (PEC), and peripheral blood (PBMNs). Data are presented as percentages of their parent populations. A significant increase of NK cells was observed in the lymph node [t(5) = 4.028, *p = 0.01], whereas NK cells in the peritoneal cavity were reduced [t(5) = 3.349, *p = 0.02]. Data are representative of two independent experiments. Sac (N = 3 rats) and PAE (N = 4 rats), in each experiment (total of Sac; N = 6 and PAE; N = 8). Asterisks indicate p < 0.05. The data are presented as the mean ± SEM