Fig. 6

Different roles of CXCR5^- and CXCR5⁺ NK cells in regulating Tfh cells. a, b Correlation analysis of Tfh cell frequencies (among CD4⁺ T cells) with the frequencies of CXCR5⁺ NK cells (left) or the ratios of CXCR5^- to CXCR5⁺ NK cells (right) in rat EAMG (a) and EAN (b) models. Spearman correlation test was used. One-independent experiment. c Correlation analysis of germinal center B cell frequencies (among splenocytes) with the frequencies of CXCR5⁺ NK cells (left) or the ratios of CXCR5^- to CXCR5⁺ NK cells (right) in rat EAMG. Spearman correlation test was used. One-independent experiment. d, e Mouse splenocytes were co-cultured with CXCR5^- and CXCR5⁺ NK cells. CD4⁺ T cells (d) and Tfh (e) cell numbers were counted by flow cytometry and shown as relative forms. Data were presented as mean ± SEM. Two independent experiments. One-way ANOVA. *p < 0.05. f–h Splenic CD3⁺ T were co-cultured with CXCR5^- and CXCR5⁺ NK cells for three days and analyzed by flow cytometry. MFI means mean fluorescent intensity. Data were presented as mean ± SEM. Two independent experiments. One-way ANOVA. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001