Figure 3.

iTEP-sMMP-pOVA resulted in greater pOVA presentation by DCs than iTEP-pOVA in vivo. (A) An OD₅₇₀ plot of B3Z cells showed that DCs from iTEP-sMMP-pOVA treated mice induced higher B3Z cell activation than DCs from iTEP-pOVA treated mice (n=3). 24 h after the injection of the vaccines, DCs were collected from the spleen and draining LNs of mice and cultured with B3Z cells to examine the pOVA presentation on the DC surface. (B) iTEP-sMMP-pTRP2 induced stronger pTRP2-specific immune responses than iTEP-pTRP2 in vivo (n=5). Mice were immunized with the vaccines, and the splenocytes were collected to examine pTRP2-specific immune responses. (C) Injection of CytC reduced CD8+ DCs in mice (n=3). Mice were subcutaneously injected with 5 mg CytC on each side of the tail base every 12 h for total of 4 injections. 24 h after the last injection, DCs from the spleen and draining LNs were collected to determine the fraction of CD8+ DCs by flow cytometry. (D) An OD₅₇₀ plot of B3Z cell indicated that the pOVA presentation of iTEP-sMMP-pOVA in mice (n=3) was not affected by the injection of CytC. Data were shown as mean ± SD and analyzed by Student’s t test. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, NS = not significant.