How inflammation and DNA damage help blood stem cell clones grow and become blood cancers in older adults
Project 3: Contribution of inflammation and DNA damaging factors to clonal expansion and malignant transformation in a community cohort of older adults
This project looks at whether inflammation and DNA-damaging factors make certain blood stem cell clones grow and lead to blood cancers in adults over 75.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Baylor College of Medicine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Houston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11378278 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you were part of the ARIC community study, researchers would use your stored blood samples to read the DNA of individual blood stem cells with single-cell sequencing. They will combine that with earlier whole-exome, methylation, and protein data to see which cell clones grew or disappeared over about 20 years. For about 250 people who had blood cell mutations at one or both time points, they'll track individual clones to measure which ones become dominant or turn into blood cancers. The team will look for inflammation- and DNA-damage-related factors that can be changed to lower the chance a clone becomes malignant.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Older adults—especially people over 75 and those with detectable blood cell mutations or who are enrolled in long-term community studies like ARIC—would be the ideal candidates for this work.
Not a fit: People without detectable blood stem cell mutations, much younger individuals, or those needing immediate treatment for active blood cancer are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify changeable risk factors and targets to prevent clonal expansion and reduce the risk of blood cancers in older adults.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research has linked clonal hematopoiesis and inflammation to blood cancers, but following individual clones across decades at single-cell resolution in a community cohort is a new and relatively untested approach.
Where this research is happening
Houston, United States
- Baylor College of Medicine — Houston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Platz, Elizabeth a. — Baylor College of Medicine
- Study coordinator: Platz, Elizabeth a.
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.