 This research has found that inhibition of the MAPK-MEK-ERK pathway can lead to unexpectedly high growth rates of T-cell acute leukemia, TALL cells. Furthermore, this increase in growth rate was independent of not activation and could be achieved through either knocking out ERK1, 2 or treating the cells with conditioned media from MEKETREATED stromal cells. Additionally, the researchers discovered that the cytokine interleukin-18, Illinois-18, was upregulated in these cells, which led to increased growth rates both in vitro and in vivo. Finally, they found that Illinois-18 levels are elevated in TALL patients compared to healthy individuals, suggesting that Illinois-18 may play a role in the development of TALL. This article was authored by Benjamin Usan, Sandrine Polio, Bastion Jerby, and others.