Figure 3. Autophagy deficiency in myeloid cells suppresses the growth of implanted tumors by affecting T cell infiltration.

(A-D) Tumor tissues were collected at 21 days after 1×10⁵ MC38 cells were subcutaneously implanted into Atg5 WT (Atg5^flox/flox) and Atg5 KO (Atg5^flox/flox+LysMcre) mice. n=3 per group. (A) Representative confocal microscopy images of the macrosections of tumors that were stained with anti-F4/80, anti-CD8 and anti-CD4 antibodies to visualize macrophages, CD8⁺ T cells and CD4⁺ T cells, respectively. The distribution of immune cells, (B) F4/80⁺ cells (C) CD8⁺ cells and (D) CD4⁺ cells, in tumor sections was measured from the edge of the tumor to the core of the tumor. (E) Tumor growth in Atg16l1 WT (Atg16l1^flox/flox) and Atg16l1 KO (Atg16l1^flox/flox+LysMcre) female mice with T cell depletion. T cells were depleted by anti-CD8 or anti-CD4 antibodies. Isotype antibodies were treated as negative control. A day after antibody treatment, 1×10⁵ MC38 cells were subcutaneously implanted. Total number of mice used for each study (n) are indicated in each figure. Statistical significance was calculated with two-way ANOVA.