Donia Alson, PhD

Role of immune cells at the tumor microenvironment Full description Neurofibromatosis (NF) is a hereditary type of cancer originates at the central and peripheral nervous system. Neurofibromatosis type 1 is the most common form of cancer arises due to the mutation at the neurofibromin (NF1) tumor suppressor gene. NF1 negatively regulates RAS by converting RAS-GTP to RAS-GDP and inhibit downstream RAS signaling. Constitutive activation of RAS signaling pathway was seen in many types of cancers, activating the downstream effectors such as MAP kinases that control the cell cycle progression, differentiation and growth. Our study focused on studying the immune cells at the tumor microenvironment in NF1 mutant mouse model, understanding their origin and immunosuppressive behavior.