Journal: Frontiers in Genetics
Article Title: Single-cell transcriptomic profiling reveals CD27 + cytotoxic T Cell heterogeneity and exhaustion dynamics in colorectal cancer tumor microenvironment
doi: 10.3389/fgene.2026.1808171
Figure Lengend Snippet: Comparative induction of T cell exhaustion markers in colorectal cancer cell lines upon PBMC co-culture. Bar graph showing relative expression (fold change vs. monoculture baseline) of PDCD1, LAG3, HAVCR2, and CD27 in MSI-H cell lines (HCT116 and RKO) and MSS cell lines (HCT15 and SW480) following 48-h co-culture with activated PBMCs. Gray dashed line represents monoculture baseline (fold change = 1). MSI-H cell lines consistently demonstrated 2-3 times higher induction of all four exhaustion markers compared to MSS cell lines, with PDCD1 and LAG3 showing the greatest differential responses. Data represent mean values from three independent biological replicates analyzed by qRT-PCR with GAPDH normalization using the 2 -ΔΔCt method.
Article Snippet: Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were obtained commercially from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC; catalog no. PCS-800-011) and used in accordance with the supplier’s guidelines.
Techniques: Co-Culture Assay, Expressing, Quantitative RT-PCR