As part of the College’s Summer Research Program, rising junior Yonathan Ararso has been collaborating with Dr. Kristian Hargadon to investigate the\u00a0production of immunosuppressive factors by melanoma cells and to study the influence of these factors on the activity of dendritic cells, a group of cells responsible for the induction of immune responses.\u00a0 Previous work in Dr. Hargadon’s laboratory has established that melanoma tumor cells suppress the function of dendritic cells, and such dysfunction is likely to have severe consequences for the induction and maintenace of a variety of other anti-tumor immune responders.\u00a0 Funded by a Summer Undergraduate Researc Fellowship from the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges, Yonathan is using a variety of cutting-edge techniques that include real time RT-PCR, ELISA, and flow cytometry to\u00a0identifying a number of melanoma-derived molecules with known immunosuppressive function.\u00a0 He is also testing the effects of\u00a0these molecules\u00a0on tumor-associated suppression of dendritic cell activity through antibody blockade experiments.\u00a0 These experiments are\u00a0designed to individually assess the role of each candidate tumor-derived factor in the suppression of dendritic cell function.\u00a0 Using this approach to gain insights into the mechanism of tumor-induced suppression of dendritic cells may potentially identify tumor-derived molecules that could serve as targets for immunotherapies designed to enhance the immune response to melanoma, the most aggressive and deadliest form of skin cancer.<\/p>\n
![\"Yonathan](\"http:\/\/blogs.hsc.edu\/biology\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2011\/06\/dsc00172.jpg\")
<\/a>Yonathan performing an ELISA<\/p><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/a>Yonathan doing real time PCR<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As part of the College’s Summer Research Program, rising junior Yonathan Ararso has been collaborating with Dr. Kristian Hargadon to investigate the\u00a0production of immunosuppressive factors by melanoma cells and to study the influence of these factors on the activity of … Continue reading