The Absence or Overexpression of IL-15 Drastically Alters Breast Cancer Metastasis via Effects on NK Cells, CD4 T Cells, and Macrophages

IL-15 is a cytokine that can affect many immune cells, including NK cells and CD8 T cells. In several tumor models, IL-15 delays primary tumor formation and can prevent or reduce metastasis. In this study, we have employed a model of breast cancer metastasis to examine the mechanism by which IL-15 affects metastasis. When breast tumor cells were injected i.v. into IL-15(-/-), C57BL/6, IL-15 transgenic (TG) and IL-15/IL-15Rα-treated C57BL/6 …