Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Cancer remains a leading cause of death, with melanoma being particularly challenging because it often evades the immune system. This study explores how nerves directly connected to melanoma tumors affect the body's immune response. These nerves release a protein called Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP), which exhausts the immune cells that typically fight tumors, weakening the defense against melanoma. We focus on a specific type of immune cell called conventional dendritic cells. These cells are crucial because they identify tumor cells and alert the immune system to attack them. Our goal is to understand how interactions between these nerves and dendritic cells impact the body's ability to combat melanoma. Our research involves experiments with mice, where we will modify the interactions between these nerves and immune cells. Using advanced genetic techniques, we will either remove these nerves or alter how they communicate with immune cells. This will help us determine whether disrupting this communication can strengthen the immune system's response to melanoma. We expect that interfering with these specific neurons, CGRP, or its receptors on dendritic cells will enhance immune responses and reduce tumor growth. This research could lead to new cancer treatments by targeting the interactions between nerves and immune cells, offering innovative strategies that integrate nerve biology with cancer therapy.