Exploration of GPCRs with Conserved Expression in Murine and Human TILs
- Lee, Justin
- Advisor(s): Mesirov, Jill P;
- Kadonaga, James T
Abstract
G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of integral membrane receptor proteins, responsible for mediating numerous signaling pathways that are vital to a wide range of biological processes. As a result, over a third of FDA-approved drugs target GPCRs to treat a variety of conditions. Additionally, dysfunctional GPCR and G protein signaling contributes to several disease states, including cancer. Previous studies have shown that dysregulation of Gαs-coupled protein receptors have an important role in the immunosuppressive properties of the tumor microenvironment (TME). Despite this, the function of GPCRs in the context of cancer immunotherapy remains largely underexplored. Here, we used a bioinformatics analysis pipeline to identify and analyze the immune cells present in the TME of 42 different mouse tumor samples. With this information, we found several GPCRs with conserved upregulation in mouse and human tumor samples. Of these GPCRs, several are targets of FDA-approved drugs, providing several potential targets for future cancer immunotherapeutic drugs.