Identifying Differential Gene Expression in Cytotoxic T Cells Induced By B16F0 Melanoma Exosomes

Recent clinical studies demonstrate how engaging a patient’s own immune system can be an effective tool in the fight against cancer. Yet, a barrier for broadening the clinical benefit of immunotherapy is identifying how tumors suppress the ability of immune cells to kill malignant cells. An important emerging mode for cellular cross talk is exosomes, which are nanoscaled particles secreted by tumors that carry proteins and RNA. To better understand how tumor-derived exosomes can alter immune cell function, this study investigated the effects of tumor exosomes on cytotoxic T cells. Specifically, we quantified how exosomes from B16F0 melanoma cells altered gene expression over time within CTLL2 cells, a mouse cytotoxic T cell line. Changes in mRNA over time was analyzed by RNA sequencing. Pathway enrichment algorithms were used to identify how B16F0-derived exosomes alter the function of cytotoxic T cells.