Fig. 6: Hydrogels with different chiral residues alter the local immune microenvironment.

A PD-L1 expression on CD11c⁺ DCs and F4/80⁺ macrophages in hydrogels on days 3 and 7 (n = 5 mice in each group). The experiments were repeated two times and representative data from one of the experiments are shown. B Flow cytometry image of PD-L1 and PD−1 on infiltrating immune cells in hydrogels. C PD−1 expression on CD45⁺ leukocytes, F4/80⁺ macrophages, CD11c⁺ DCs, and CD3⁺ T cells in hydrogels on days 3 and 7 (n = 6 mice in each group). The experiments were repeated two times and representative data from one of the experiments are shown. D Western blot analysis of PD-L1 and PD-1 expression by immune cells infiltrated in the hydrogels (β-actin was used as the reference). The experiments were repeated two times and representative data from one of the experiments are shown. E Other T cell exhaustion markers (LAG-3, TIM-3, CTLA-4) expression of CD3⁺ T cells in subcutaneously injected hydrogels after 3 days and 7 days (n = 4 mice in each group). The experiments were repeated two times and representative data from one of the experiments are shown. F Volcano plot of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the D-Gel and L-Gel through RNA-seq (n = 3 mice in each group). G The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of DEGs (n = 3 mice in each group). H The expression of relative genes detected by q-PCR (n = 3 technical replicates, GAPDH was used as the reference). The experiments were repeated three times and representative data from one of the experiments are shown. I Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence staining of skin tissues surrounding with hydrogels. J Schematic illustration of the status of infiltrating immune cells. Data are presented as the mean ± SEM. Statistical significance was analyzed by two-way ANOVA using Sidak’s posttest. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.