Figure 8.

Maraba MG1-hDCT efficiently boosted DCT-specific response in melanoma brain tumor-bearing mice and significantly extended their survival. C57Bl/6 mice were challenged with 10³ B16-F10 cells by intracranial injection in order to establish syngeneic brain melanoma tumor. Five days later, mice received 2 × 10⁸ pfu Ad-hDCT by intramuscular injection while control mice received an empty Ad vector. Nine days after Ad injection, animals were administered intravenously with 10⁹ pfu MG1-hDCT. Mouse survival was monitored daily. (a) Percentage of CD8⁺ T cells secreting IFN-γ in response to DCT-specific SVY peptide exposure measured 5 days after Maraba injection in the blood. Box plots representing 25–75 percentile including median and whiskers illustrating the range between minimal and maximal values. Pooled data from surviving mice at day 19 after tumor challenge from several experiments: n = 2 for Ad-empty group (only 2 control mice out of 17 still alive at the time of immune analysis), n = 8 for Ad-hDCT group, n = 15 for Ad-hDCT + MG1-hDCT group. (b) Kaplan–Meier curves illustrating survival of treated melanoma brain-tumor bearing mice. Pooled data from several experiments: n = 17 for Ad-empty group, n = 10 for Ad-hDCT group, n = 15 for Ad-hDCT + MG1-hDCT group. **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001. Ad, adenoviral vector; DCT, dopachrome tautomerase; IFN-γ, interferon-gamma; pfu, plaque-forming units.