Gender Variability in Immunoregulation of Bladder Cancer

We hypothesize that female mice will exhibit a more suppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) compared to male mice as demonstrated by (1) enhanced early infiltration of T regulatory cells (Tregs) and myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs); (2) reduced adaptive immune cell infiltration (e.g. B cell, type 1 helper (Th1) CD4+ T cell, CD8+ T cell) and (3) larger bladder tumor burden. By inhibiting these suppressive immune cells early in bladder tumor development, we predict restoration of adaptive immune cell infiltration and anti-tumor responsiveness (e.g. lower tumor burden).