PMN-MDSCs in bone metastasis of prostate cancer

Who could benefit from this research

What this research studies

This project looks at how a specific immune cell population, PMN-MDSCs, behaves in bone metastases from prostate cancer and how the bone‑rich environment, including fat cells, may boost their suppression of the immune response. Using mouse models that mimic bone metastasis, the team will examine how bone fat and fatty acids influence PMN‑MDSCs and their production of itaconate, a molecule linked to immune suppression. The goal is to understand mechanisms that dampen CD8+ T cell activity so future treatments can be tailored to overcome this barrier. If successful, findings could point to new strategies to improve responses to immunotherapy in bone‑metastatic prostate cancer.

Why it matters

Where this research is happening

• University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr
  Houston, United States Active

Researchers

• Principal investigator: Wang, Guocan — University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr
• Study coordinator: Wang, Guocan

Related research

Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.

• Personalized Metastasis-Directed Therapy for Prostate Cancer with Imaging and Biopsy Boost

  A large North American trial will test whether targeted radiation to metastases helps men with a specific type of prostate cancer and uses biomarker tests and imaging to tailor treatment.

  NIH research Case Western Reserve University · Cleveland, United States · NIH-11411288

• Understanding how prostate cancer spreads to bone and stays dormant

  Researchers are studying how prostate cancer moves to bone, why it becomes deadly, and how some cancer cells lie dormant before potentially causing trouble.

  NIH research Columbia University Health Sciences · New York, United States · NIH-11359536

• Understanding how tumor neighbors help prostate cancer spread and resist therapy

  Researchers are studying how the tumor environment around prostate cancer cells promotes spread and resistance to common therapies, with a focus on a protein called ASPN.

  NIH research Vanderbilt University Medical Center · Nashville, United States · NIH-11352675

• Lipoylation and bone metastasis in prostate cancer: paving the way for new treatments

  A study in men with advanced prostate cancer will explore how a chemical process called lipoylation influences cancer spreading to bone and whether this could lead to new therapies.

  NIH research University of Mississippi Med Ctr · Jackson, United States · NIH-11343531

• RIPK2/MKK7/c-Myc Signals as a Target to Stop Prostate Cancer from Spreading

  This grant tests a new way to stop prostate cancer from spreading by blocking a signaling pathway involving RIPK2, MKK7, and c-Myc.

  NIH research State University New York Stony Brook · Stony Brook, United States · NIH-11332412

• Understanding how prostate cancer spreads to bone and why it likes bone

  A major NIH grant is funding research to uncover why prostate cancer cells spread to bone and how they grow there, using a mouse model that mirrors human bone metastasis.

  NIH research Columbia University Health Sciences · New York, United States · NIH-11312666

About this research

1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.