Fig. 2

Impact of GCs exposure on untransduced (UT) and CD19 CAR + T cells phenotype. A Viability of K562 tumor cells (n = 3 replicates) and CAR T cells (n = 3 donors) after 72h of exposure with different concentration of Dexamethasone (Dx, green) or Methylprednisolone (MP, blue) determined by AnnexinV-7AAD-. 2-way ANOVA with Sidak’s correction was used to do multiple comparisons between viability of cells exposed to different Dx and MP concentration. B Experimental design for repeated GC exposures. Relative surface expression of LAG-3, PD-1 and TIM-3 in CAR + and UT T cells after one (1x, C) or 3 (3x, D) exposures with Dx (left) or MP (right). E. Relative expression of LAG-3, PD-1 and TIM-3 in CD4 + and CD8 + CAR + T cells after 3 exposures of Dx (left) or MP (right). F Comparison of LAG3 + PD1 + TIM3 + frequency between CD4 + and CD8 + CAR + T cells without GC or after 3 exposures with Dx or MP. C-F, n = 6 donors. Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test was used to compare expressions in CAR + vs. UT or CD4 + vs. CD8 + T cells. Medians are represented. * p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001, ^###p < 0.001