Antibody treatments that help the immune system pull cancer proteins into cells for destruction
Development of Novel Antibody Conjugates for Cancer Immunotherapy
Developing new antibody-based treatments to help the immune system remove harmful surface or secreted proteins from tumors for people whose cancers carry those proteins.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Wisconsin-Madison NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Madison, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11301801 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers are designing antibody conjugates that bind cancer surface or secreted proteins on one end and a cell-surface receptor on the other to trigger uptake and lysosomal degradation of those targets. This approach builds on PROTAC concepts but extends them to proteins outside the cell by using LYTAC-style receptor-mediated internalization. The team will make and test these conjugates in cell models and animal studies to see whether they lower target protein levels and improve anti-tumor immune responses. The work is being done at the University of Wisconsin–Madison with the goal of moving promising candidates toward clinical testing.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates would be people whose tumors express the specific surface or secreted proteins the researchers plan to target, including some cancers that involve liver-expressed receptors if those approaches are used.
Not a fit: Patients whose tumors do not display the targeted proteins, or those with conditions unrelated to these cancer proteins, are unlikely to benefit from this work.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could expand treatment options by allowing new therapies to remove previously hard-to-drug cancer surface and secreted proteins.
How similar studies have performed: PROTACs have shown promising preclinical results for intracellular targets, while LYTACs and related extracellular-targeting approaches are newer and currently have encouraging but early lab-stage data.
Where this research is happening
Madison, United States
- University of Wisconsin-Madison — Madison, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Tang, Weiping — University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Study coordinator: Tang, Weiping
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.