Tuesday, July 1, 2025 7/1/2025

Neural Niche in Promoting Brain Metastatic Tumor Progression

Award Number: R01CA255064
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/01/2021
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2026

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Neural Niche in Promoting Brain Metastatic Tumor Progression - Project Summary Title: Neural Niche in Promoting Brain Metastasis Progression Metastatic progression at the brain is a multi-step, evolutionary process that is accomplished through a consistent interplay between disseminated tumor cells and brain microenvironment - the niche . Despite significantly improved control of primary tumors, the incidence of brain metastasis is increasing! To reduce cancer mortality, rationally-designed therapeutics, based on a mechanistic understanding of metastasis in at the unique brain metastatic niche, are urgently needed for brain metastasis patients. What's the brain metastatic niche? In the brain microenvironment - the niche - is a myriad of diverse cell types that have been speculated to contribute to the brain tumor and brain metastasis development, including endothelial cells, astrocytes, neural stem/progenitor cells (NSC hereafter) and increasingly appreciated brain immune cells. Despite studies of astrocytes, how do the NSC and its progenies respond to brain metastatic colonization and regulate brain immune landscape and the metastatic outcome has yet to be systematically investigated. Our preliminary studies have demonstrated that NSC migrates to colonized tumor cells and NSC is functionally essential for brain metastasis progression. Intriguingly, ample evidence from in the field of neuroscience suggests an immune suppressive role of NCS during the brain inflammation. Thus, in this proposal, we hypothesize that NSC and its progenies' brain metastasis tropism and potentially consequential immunosuppressive activity could contribute to an immune-suppressive metastatic niche, facilitating brain metastasis progression. In this proposed study, we will use transgenic mouse models and state-of-the-art genomics and imaging approach to trace and analyze the role of highly heterogeneous cell types involved in NSC differentiation and immune suppression and their roles in regulating brain metastatic outgrowth. This collaborative effort integrating multidisciplinary expertise, including cancer biology, neuroscience, computational biology, allow us to: 1) examine and trace the NSC differentiation response to brain metastasis at the phenotypical level; 2) visualize and quantitatively measure the behavior of brain metastatic niche cells and their transcriptome heterogeneity; 3) examine the mechanism by which neural cells derived from NSC promotes brain metastasis progression. New in-depth mechanistic insights obtained through basic and pre- clinical innovative research will pave the way to future brain metastases treatments.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $465,146 )
2025	2025	THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER	5323 HARRY HINES BLVD	DALLAS	TX	75390	DALLAS	USA	Cancer Biology Research	000	5	6/26/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$465,146
														Subtotal = $465,146

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $441,889 )
2024	2024	THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER	5323 HARRY HINES BLVD	DALLAS	TX	75390	DALLAS	USA	Cancer Biology Research	000	4	6/12/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$441,889
														Subtotal = $441,889

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $463,695 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER, THE	5323 HARRY HINES BLVD	DALLAS	TX	75390	DALLAS	USA	Cancer Biology Research	002	3	7/3/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$463,695
2023	2022	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER, THE	5323 HARRY HINES BLVD	DALLAS	TX	75390	DALLAS	USA	Cancer Biology Research	001	2	10/11/2022	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$192,869
2023	2021	UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME DU LAC	940 GRACE HALL	NOTRE DAME	IN	46556	ST JOSEPH	USA	Cancer Biology Research	000	1	10/11/2022	NEW	-$192,869
														Subtotal = $463,695

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $479,828 )
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER, THE	5323 HARRY HINES BLVD	DALLAS	TX	75390	DALLAS	USA	Cancer Biology Research	001	2	8/1/2022	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$479,828
2022	2021	UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME DU LAC	940 GRACE HALL	NOTRE DAME	IN	46556	ST JOSEPH	USA	Cancer Biology Research	000	1	8/1/2022	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $479,828

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $471,652 )
2021	2021	UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME DU LAC	940 GRACE HALL	NOTRE DAME	IN	46556	ST JOSEPH	USA	Cancer Biology Research	000	1	6/19/2021	NEW	$471,652
														Subtotal = $471,652

Grand Total All Awards = $2,322,210

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Neural Niche in Promoting Brain Metastatic Tumor Progression

Award Number: R01CA255064

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/01/2021

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2026

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer