Characterization of the gene expression changes associated with melanoma-endothelial cell communication

Average life expectancy for patients with metastatic melanoma is less than 6 months, and only a handful of treatment options are available. If the disease can be stopped before it spreads to other organs, life expectancy is greatly increased. The goal of this project is to identify possible regulators of melanoma metastasis by determining genes whose expression is modulated when the cells are grown in contact with endothelial cells. Identification of genes involved in this cell-cell communication could have therapeutic implications.

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Stine MJ, Wang CJ, Moriarty WF, Ryu B, Cheong R, Westra WH, Levchenko A, Alani RM