Blocking a sugar-making pathway in childhood midline brain tumors
Official title: Targeting Hexosamine Synthesis in Pediatric Brain Tumors
Funded at University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh · NIH-11330380 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This work tests whether shutting down the hexosamine (sugar-making) pathway, alone or with drugs that block glycolysis, can better kill diffuse midline gliomas that affect children.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pittsburgh, United States) |
| Project start | May 15, 2025 |
| Project end | April 30, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $442,090 |
| NIH project number | 5R01NS138440-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11330380 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children diagnosed with diffuse midline glioma carrying the H3K27M mutation or families willing to donate tumor tissue for research are the most relevant participants or sample donors.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with other types of brain tumors that do not carry the H3K27M change or cancers outside the brain are less likely to benefit from this specific work.
What this research studies
Researchers will study tumor tissue and lab models of diffuse midline glioma that carry the H3K27M change to see how the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway helps tumors survive. They will try drugs and engineered bacterial enzymes that block this pathway, both by themselves and together with glycolysis-blocking agents, to find combinations that overcome drug resistance. The team will compare effects on tumor cells versus normal neural precursor and glial cells to look for selective tumor killing. Findings will guide whether these approaches could move toward clinical testing or sample-donation opportunities for families.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could produce new therapies that more effectively kill resistant pediatric diffuse midline gliomas.
How similar studies have gone: Previous lab studies show blocking glycolysis (PFKFB3) can slow these tumors but resistance develops, and targeting the hexosamine pathway is a newer strategy with limited prior clinical data.
Where this research is happening
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University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Agnihotri, Sameer — University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
- Study coordinator: Agnihotri, Sameer
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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.