Boosting immune cell fat-burning to help fight metastatic colon cancer
Official title: Metabolic reprogramming to boost the fitness of anti-tumor immunity against metastatic colon cancer
Funded at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory · NIH-11309198 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tries to turn on a fat-burning program in immune cells to help immunotherapy work better for people with metastatic colorectal (colon) cancer, especially the common microsatellite-stable type.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R37 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Cold Spring Harbor, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2025 |
| Project end | March 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $640,583 |
| NIH project number | 5R37CA292807-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11309198 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with metastatic colorectal cancer—especially those with microsatellite-stable (MSS) tumors who currently do not respond well to immunotherapy—would be the likely candidates for future trials informed by this work.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with early-stage disease, cancers unrelated to colorectal cancer, or tumors that already respond well to immunotherapy (such as many MSI-high tumors) are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
Researchers are working to make CD8+ immune cells more fit to kill cancer by activating a metabolic pathway controlled by PPARδ and Cpt1a. They will use lab models, molecular tests (including ATAC-seq to study gene accessibility), and immune assays to see how boosting mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation affects T cell function in metastatic colorectal tumors. The team will test these metabolic changes together with existing immunotherapies to see if the combination improves anti-tumor responses. If promising, the work is intended to guide future clinical approaches that could be offered to patients in trials.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could make immunotherapy more effective for people with metastatic colorectal cancer and lead to new treatment options.
How similar studies have gone: Preclinical lab studies have shown that enhancing T cell fatty-acid metabolism can improve anti-tumor immunity, but clinical proof in metastatic colorectal cancer remains limited.
Where this research is happening
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Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Cold Spring Harbor, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Beyaz, Semir — Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
- Study coordinator: Beyaz, Semir
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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.