Gene expression data from mouse squamous cell carcinoma cells

We describe a function of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in driving anti-tumor immune evasion. The kinase activity of nuclear-targeted FAK in squamous cancer cells drives exhaustion of CD8+ T-cells and recruitment of regulatory T-cells by transcriptionally regulating chemokine/cytokine and ligand-receptor networks, including transcription of Ccl5 that is crucial. These changes inhibit antigen-primed cytotoxic CD8+ T-cell activity, permitting growth of FAK-expressing tumors. To address how FAK activity in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cancer cells promotes elevated intra-tumoral regulatory T-cells, we analyzed global transcriptional profiles of SCC cells expressing or not expressing FAK. Total RNA was isolated from three biological replicates each of SCC cells from mice genetically null for Fak (SCC FAK-/-) and cells stably re-expressing FAK (SCC FAK-wt) and hybridized on Affymetrix microarrays.