Fig. 7: YCW NPs in combination with PD-L1 blockade inhibit metastatic tumor growth.

A Schematic diagram of applying combination therapy to induce anti-tumor immune responses systemically. B–C Individual (B) and average (C) tumor growth curves in four groups of primary tumors, including UnTx group (n = 4), aPD-L1 group (n = 4), small NPs group (n = 6), combination group (n = 6). D–E Individual (D) and average (E) tumor growth curves of distant tumors (n = 4) in four different groups. F Fluorescence imaging of B16-luc established mice on day 8, 11, 14. G Representative photographs of mice in untreated and combination group on day 14. H Photographs and I–J weight of primary tumors and distant tumors within 20 days (UnTx: n = 4; aPD-L1: n = 3; Small NPs: n = 4; Combine: n = 4). K Flow cytometry plots of CD4⁺ T cells and CD8⁺ T cells of distant tumors in four groups. L Corresponding quantitative analysis of CD8⁺ T cells of distant tumor. M Corresponding quantitative analysis of CD4⁺ T cells of distant tumor (n = 4). (N) Bioluminescence imaging of lung metastasis established by B16-luc in vivo on day 10, 13, 16 in untreated and combination groups. O Imaging of whole lung tissue ex vivo. (P) Number of tumors in lung (n = 3). Statistical significance between different groups was obtained by Student’s t tests (two-tailed) P and one-way ANOVA using the Tukey post-test (C, E, I, J, L, M). ****P < 0.0001; ***P < 0.005; **P < 0.01; *P < 0.05. Data are means ± SD.