Breast cancer protein that opens the brain's protective barrier
Official title: Breast cancer cells secrete glycosylated protein to facilitate blood-brain barrier opening and brain metastasis
Funded at University of Illinois at Chicago · NIH-11291289 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Looking at whether a sugar-coated protein made by some breast tumors helps cancer cells get into the brain, to help people with advanced breast cancer who are at risk of brain metastases.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Illinois at Chicago NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | March 1, 2025 |
| Project end | February 28, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $476,142 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA289701-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11291289 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with advanced or metastatic breast cancer, especially those with tumors known to spread to the brain or those at high risk for brain metastases, would be most relevant to this research.
✕Less likely to help
People with early-stage breast cancer with very low risk of brain spread, or patients with unrelated cancers, are unlikely to benefit directly from this preclinical work in the near term.
What this research studies
Researchers found that certain breast cancer cells release a sugar-modified form of a protein called fetuin-A that can make the blood-brain barrier more leaky. They will compare the tumor-made protein to the normal blood protein, remove its sugar tags, and watch how it acts on brain blood vessel cells in lab dishes. The team will use mouse models to see if the same protein opens the blood-brain barrier in animals, and test a small peptide designed to block the protein from binding to a cell receptor called Annexin A2. The work focuses on the steps that let cancer cells cross into the brain so that blocking those steps could stop or slow brain metastases.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new ways to stop or reduce breast cancer spread to the brain by blocking the tumor-made protein or its interaction with blood vessel cells.
How similar studies have gone: The idea that tumor-secreted, glycosylated proteins can open the blood-brain barrier is relatively new and blocking this specific mechanism is largely untested in humans so far.
Where this research is happening
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University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Yamada, Kaori Horiguchi — University of Illinois at Chicago
- Study coordinator: Yamada, Kaori Horiguchi
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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.