Fig. 4: iGN enhances transcriptional programs for cross-presentation.

a Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining of inguinal lymph nodes from C57BL/6 mice injected with iGN. The inset shows a corresponding higher-magnification view, and the arrowhead indicates accumulation of iGN. Scale bars, 50 μm. b Sections of inguinal lymph nodes from mice treated as in (a) were subjected to fluorescent immunohistochemical analysis using antibodies to CD11c. Arrowheads indicate cells incorporating iGN. Scale bars, 5 μm. c Differentially expressed genes (DEGs; fold change >2 and adjusted p-value < 0.01) in bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) treated with 1V209–αMan–GNPs (GNPs) compared to those in non-treated control BMDCs are displayed in a volcano plot (blue, downregulated; red, upregulated). Selected genes associated with dendritic cell activation are annotated. d Gene ontology (GO) analysis using the upregulated genes shown in (c). e Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) of the antigen processing- and cross-presentation-related gene set (MM14526). f BMDCs were treated (or not treated) with GNPs, followed by flow cytometry analysis for CD86 expression. Percentage of CD86 expression in CD11c⁺ cells was quantified. Data are presented as means ± SEM; n = 3 biologically independent samples per group. ***p < 0.001, unpaired t test.