Figure 2. IYIY-I₂-BODIPY and YIYI-I₂-BODIPY conjugates increase IL-2, IL-6, IL-17 and decrease TGF-β cytokine levels.

4T1 tumor bearing mice were randomly divided into four treatment groups (saline, I₂-BODIPY, YIYI-I₂-BODIPY and IYIY-I₂-BODIPY) and compounds were administrated via tail vein respectively. Mice were then sacrificed at 2 h and 24 h post compound administration. The blood plasma was extracted from these mice via cardiac puncture for cytokines analysis. Levels of cytokines (a) IL-2, (b) IL-6, (c) IL-4, (d) IL-17A and (e) TGF-β are shown. Data represent mean ± SEM with minimum of four mice per group. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.005 refers to comparison between I₂-BODIPY and conjugates using one-way ANOVA (Dunnett’s test).