Discovering Factors That Drive the Migration of Immune Cells Into Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Tumors

The goal of this research was to map the network of interactions influencing immune cell migration. A series of filters were applied to a transcriptional regulatory network to prioritize a list of chemokines, cytokines, and immunomodulatory genes associated with increased infiltration of immune cells related to patient survival. The chemokine IL-18 was identified as a factor influencing natural killer cell infiltration into malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Currently experimentally determining if patient-derived MPM cell lines express IL-18, and developing a Boyden chamber assay to determine if IL-18 induces chemotaxis and tissue invasion.