Regulation of lymph node metastasis by endothelial STING

Abstract

STING, as a molecule contributing to generation of type I Interferon (IFN), has been widely researched in relation to diverse inflammatory diseases. In addition to inflammatory diseases, STING activation plays an important role in anti-tumor therapy, and much effort has been undertaken to investigate STING pathway in cancer until now. However, studies have focused on its role in immune cells primarily in the primary tumor. In this thesis, I studied the role of STING in regulation of metastasis, specifically lymph node metastasis. Using single-cell analysis and endothelial-specific STING knockout mouse, I narrowed down to the role of endothelial STING. Especially, I aimed to investigate the underlying mechanism by observing the effects of STING pathway activation in the endothelial cells constituting high endothelial venules (HEVs) and the related alterations in lymph node.