Defining the mechanism of systemic NK cell dysfunction associated with melanoma lung metastasis in spontaneous and experimental models

We isolated dysfunctional splenic NK cells in mice with melanoma metastasis and performed bulk RNA-seq with the NK cells to explore the mechanism of NK cell dysfunction with a special focus on signaling pathway linked to NK cell cytotoxicity. Overall design: Mice were subcutaneously injected with B16F10 melanoma cells and monitored for primary tumor growth, splenic NK cell dysfunction and spontaneous lung metastasis. After confirmed metastatic tumor progression, dysfunctional splenic NK cells were isolated, subjected to bulk RNA-seq, and analyzed with differential expressed genes linked to NK cell dysfunction.