Blocking cancer signals at the cell membrane
Targeting Cancer at the Protein-Membrane Interface
This project is creating new types of drug molecules that stop cancer-driving proteins from attaching to cell membranes to help people with cancers driven by signaling proteins like RAS or PI3K.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | California Institute of Technology NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pasadena, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11231973 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers at Caltech are designing bifunctional inhibitors and membrane-partitioning pharmacophores that interrupt how cancer signaling proteins interact with the inner cell membrane. They will synthesize these molecules and test them in biochemical assays and cultured cancer cells, and likely examine effects in preclinical models. The team will map how the drugs enter and move within membranes and how that changes recruitment of proteins such as RAS and PI3K at membrane hotspots. The ultimate aim is to develop new drug designs that could move toward clinical testing for relevant cancers.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with tumors that show activation of membrane-recruited signaling pathways, for example cancers with RAS or PI3K pathway mutations, would be the most likely future candidates for therapies from this work.
Not a fit: Patients with cancers driven by unrelated mechanisms, benign conditions, or those managed by local therapies alone are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this preclinical research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new treatments that more precisely shut down cancer-driving signals and offer options for tumors driven by membrane-recruited pathways.
How similar studies have performed: There are successful membrane-targeting drugs and nanotherapies, but directly blocking protein–membrane interactions is a newer approach that has mostly been tested in preclinical settings so far.
Where this research is happening
Pasadena, United States
- California Institute of Technology — Pasadena, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Morstein, Johannes — California Institute of Technology
- Study coordinator: Morstein, Johannes
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.