AIF1 and neoplasm: In previous cancer-related studies, the loss of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) in melanoma cells induced by astrocytes resulted in MCP-1 oversecretion by melanoma cells, and in the recruitment of Iba1 and macrophages that reciprocally improved the outgrowth of brain metastatic tumor cells via enhanced proliferation and reduced apoptosis (17).