StroMaP
Financiado
Stromal stress networks underlying phenotypic plasticity and tumor fitness
The contribution of genetic and epigenetic changes to rewiring of cancer cells into their malignant state has been much studied. But tumors are more than cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME) is a key player in tumor p...
The contribution of genetic and epigenetic changes to rewiring of cancer cells into their malignant state has been much studied. But tumors are more than cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME) is a key player in tumor progression. We lack an overarching view of how, despite being genomically stable, the TME is heterogeneously reprogrammed across time and space to promote evolution of aggressive disease.
Recently I discovered that Heat-Shock Factor 1 (HSF1), a cytoprotective transcription factor (TF), is vital to this reprogramming, promoting malignancy in patients and mice upon activation in the stroma. Other stress TFs have also been implicated. This leads me to hypothesize that stress responses help tumors adapt and evolve into aggressive malignancies, by enabling heterogeneity and phenotypic diversity in the TME. This plasticity is achieved through cycles of massive transcriptional rewiring orchestrated by a network of stress TFs.
To test this hypothesis in a global way we will proceed in three aims. First we will define patterns of stress response activation in the TME by multiplexed immunofluorescence of patient tumors. Then, we will map the associated transcriptional landscape in patients by RNA-sequencing down to single cell resolution and interrogate it in the context of a novel theory of evolutionary tradeoffs so as to discover signatures that promote tumor aggressiveness. Next, we will identify actionable nodes for intervention and test them in cell co-cultures and mouse models.
The expected outcome of the proposed research is a detailed network of stress responses that can explain how the TME is rewired in tumors and how variable this rewiring is. This knowledge will provide new ways to target the TME in order to complement treatments focused on cancer cells. More generally, we address key aspects of stress responses, tissue plasticity, hoemostasis and evolution that are expected to be valuable across diverse fields of biology.
ver más
Duración del proyecto: 60 meses
Fecha Inicio: 2017-09-12
Fecha Fin: 2022-09-30
Fecha Fin: 2022-09-30
Línea de financiación: concedida
El organismo H2020 notifico la concesión del proyecto el día 2022-09-30
Línea de financiación objetivo
El proyecto se financió a través de la siguiente ayuda:
ERC-2017-STG:
ERC Starting Grant
Cerrada
hace 8 años
Presupuesto
El presupuesto total del proyecto asciende a
1M€
Líder del proyecto
WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE
No se ha especificado una descripción o un objeto social para esta compañía.
Perfil tecnológico
TRL
4-5
Perfil tecnológico
TRL
4-5
884.92K€ |
Participante