Individuals with cancer often exhibit dysfunctional immune signaling in response to interferon (IFN) stimulation.

Furthermore, recent evidence indicates that pSTAT-1 levels, which are indicative of IFN responsiveness, in circulating immune cells are predictive of clinical outcome in melanoma patients.

In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Qiuzhen Liu and colleagues at Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China determined that melanoma cells have differing capacity to dampen IFN responses in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and that NOS1 expression is indicative of the inhibitory potential of a particular melanoma.

In melanoma patient metastases there was an inverse relationship between NOS1 expression and patient response to adoptive T cell therapy.

These findings establish a link between a melanoma specific factors and immune dysfunction and suggest that NOS1 expression can be used as a predictive biomarker in melanoma.

TITLE: Melanoma NOS1 expression promotes dysfunctional IFN signaling