To this end, B16-F10 melanoma cells, stably silenced for ICOSL, were injected intravenously (i.v.)into either syngeneic wild-type C57BL/6 mice, or mice deficient in one molecule at a time (OPN-KO, ICOS-KO, ICOSL-KO mice). This evidence concerns the gene SPP1 and melanoma.