Drugs to turn back on a tumor-suppressor (PP2A) in advanced prostate cancer
Official title: Project 3 - Development of serine/threonine phosphatase PP2A molecular glues for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer
Funded at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor · NIH-11196277 · Data updated 2026-11-12
New small molecules aim to restore a tumor-suppressor enzyme called PP2A to help treat advanced prostate cancer that no longer responds to hormone therapies.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Michigan at Ann Arbor NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Ann Arbor, United States) |
| Project start | September 11, 2014 |
| Project end | August 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $404,043 |
| NIH project number | 2P50CA186786-11A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11196277 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be men with advanced or metastatic prostate cancer, especially those whose tumors no longer respond to androgen-deprivation or anti-androgen treatments.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with early-stage or localized prostate cancer or tumors driven by unrelated mechanisms are less likely to benefit from this specific PP2A-targeting approach.
What this research studies
If you have advanced prostate cancer, researchers at the University of Michigan are designing small molecules called "molecular glues" to reactivate a tumor-suppressor enzyme called PP2A. They plan to correct a chemical change (carboxymethylation) that controls PP2A assembly and will use lab-grown prostate cancer cells and animal models to screen and optimize compounds that restore PP2A function. The team hopes these compounds will overcome resistance to androgen-deprivation and anti-androgen therapies. If candidates succeed in preclinical testing, they would be moved toward safety studies and future clinical trials for patients with therapy-resistant tumors.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could slow tumor growth and help overcome resistance to hormone therapies in advanced prostate cancer.
How similar studies have gone: Reactivating PP2A is an emerging strategy with encouraging preclinical results, but molecular-glue drugs targeting PP2A have not yet demonstrated late-stage clinical success.
Where this research is happening
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University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Narla, Goutham — University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
- Study coordinator: Narla, Goutham
Related research
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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.