Fig. 6

The STAT3-blocked HCC-vaccine prevented tumor-induced CD8+ T and NK cell exhaustion. BALB/c mice were inoculated subcutaneously with 2 × 10⁶ H22 cells after three rounds immunization. Four weeks later, the mice were killed when the control mice became moribund, and mononuclear cells were isolated from their spleens. a The levels of PD-1, CTLA-4, TIM-3, TIGIT, and LAG-3 were detected by FACS on T cells from the different groups. b Intracellular TNF-α and IFN-γ of CD4⁺ T cells were detected by FACS. c The percentage of Granzym B and perforin positive CD8⁺ T cells were assayed by FACS. d The levels of PD-1, CTLA-4, TIM-3, TIGIT and LAG-3 on NK cells was analyzed by FACS. e The levels of IL-10 and TGF-β in the serum of mice were assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Data are expressed as the mean ± SD, statistical significance was determined as *p < 0.05 and **p < 0.01 (n = 6)