How cancer cells pass on drug-triggered metabolic changes
Profiling and perturbing the inheritance of drug-induced metabolic states in cancer with Inheritance-Seq
This project uses a new lab method to find which cancer cell traits caused by drugs get passed to daughter cells and to reveal targets that could help treatments work better for people with cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Broad Institute, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Cambridge, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11314544 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers are developing a technique called Inheritance-Seq that tags cancer cells and watches how drug-induced traits are passed to daughter cells over time. The approach combines CRISPR-based lineage tracing, pooled genetic perturbations, microscopy, and in situ sequencing to read out inherited phenotypes at scale. By testing many gene perturbations in parallel, the team aims to find the genes and pathways that control whether a drug-induced state persists. The work is done in laboratory cancer models and is intended to point toward targets for future therapies rather than changing care right now.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with cancers that stop responding to therapy because of non-genetic or reversible resistance may ultimately benefit and could be candidates for follow-up clinical trials based on these findings.
Not a fit: Patients seeking immediate changes to their current treatment are unlikely to benefit now because this is preclinical laboratory research using cell models.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify new targets or combination strategies to prevent or reverse non-genetic drug resistance and make cancer treatments last longer.
How similar studies have performed: Prior studies have characterized drug-induced cell states and used CRISPR or lineage tracing separately, but combining high-throughput lineage tracing with in situ sequencing to map inheritance is a novel approach.
Where this research is happening
Cambridge, United States
- Broad Institute, INC. — Cambridge, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Blainey, Paul Clark — Broad Institute, INC.
- Study coordinator: Blainey, Paul Clark
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.