Differential MHC-I Expression in Innervated vs. Non-Innervated Regions of Ovarian Tumors
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Author(s)
DeWal, Jyotleen
Hullinger, Jeffrey
Ananth, Swetha
Advisor(s)
Housley, Nick
Zhang, Jing
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Abstract
Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I (MHC-I) receptors are critical for immune surveillance, enabling cytotoxic T-cells to recognize and eliminate abnormal cells. However, cancer cells can modulate MHC-I expression to evade immune detection, facilitating tumor progression. Recent studies suggest that neurons may influence MHC-I expression on cancer cells, potentially mediating immune evasion mechanisms and tumor progression. This relationship remains poorly understood in many cancers, especially ovarian cancer, a malignancy with a complex tumor microenvironment including diverse neuronal populations. We investigated the relationship between tumor innervation and MHC-I expression in ovarian cancer. We hypothesize that MHC-I expression will vary with sympathetic innervation . Using immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy, we analyzed tumor sections from mice orthotopically implanted with eGFP expressing ovarian cancer cells. MHC-I fluorescence intensity was stratified based on proximity to tyrosine hydroxylase positive neurons. Our study provides the first insight into the relationships between innervation and MHC-I expression in ovarian cancer.
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Date
2025-04
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Text
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Undergraduate Research Paper
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