How alkylating chemotherapy damages RNA and triggers immune signals in cancer cells
An RNA-Dependent Innate Immune Response Pathway to Base-Damaging Chemotherapeutics
This work looks at how commonly used alkylating chemotherapy drugs damage RNA and trigger immune signals inside cancer cells, aiming to help people treated with these drugs.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Washington University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Saint Louis, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11286620 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From a patient's perspective, researchers are following what happens inside cancer cells after treatment with alkylating chemotherapy: they are tracking damaged RNA, the immune-like 'danger' signals it creates, and how those signals affect whether cancer cells survive or die. The team will use lab experiments with cancer cell models and molecular tools to study proteins such as RIG-I and ASCC1 and the role of the spliceosome in processing damaged RNA. By mapping these steps they hope to learn whether this pathway helps chemotherapy kill tumors or could be targeted to improve treatment. This is primarily laboratory-based mechanistic research and does not test new treatments in patients at this stage.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with cancers commonly treated using alkylating agents, or patients willing to provide tumor or blood samples for laboratory study, would be most relevant to this work.
Not a fit: Patients whose cancers are not treated with alkylating chemotherapies or who need immediate changes to their clinical care are unlikely to benefit directly from this early lab-focused research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify new targets or strategies to make alkylating chemotherapies more effective against cancer.
How similar studies have performed: Related innate immune sensing pathways are well described in infection research and early lab data indicate alkylators can trigger RNA-dependent signaling, but applying these ideas to chemotherapy response is a relatively new direction.
Where this research is happening
Saint Louis, United States
- Washington University — Saint Louis, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mosammaparast, Nima — Washington University
- Study coordinator: Mosammaparast, Nima
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.