Silencing DSTYK to improve chemotherapy for triple-negative breast cancer
Official title: Enhancing chemotherapeutic efficacy in triple-negative breast cancer via DSTYK silence
Funded at University of Toledo Health Sci Campus · NIH-11308361 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Seeing if turning off a protein called DSTYK helps chemotherapy kill triple-negative breast cancer cells.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Toledo Health Sci Campus NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Toledo, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2025 |
| Project end | March 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $374,135 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA272760-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11308361 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Although this project is lab and animal research, its results would most directly apply to people with triple-negative breast cancer, especially those whose tumors have become resistant to standard chemotherapy.
✕Less likely to help
People with non–triple-negative breast cancers or tumors that do not rely on DSTYK are unlikely to benefit from this specific approach.
What this research studies
Researchers will study aggressive triple-negative breast cancer using human cancer cells and animal models to understand why some tumors stop responding to chemotherapy. They have found that chemoresistant cells make more of a protein called DSTYK and will test ways to silence DSTYK, including packaging silencing molecules into exosomes. The team will compare tumor response and cell death with and without DSTYK silencing in lab dishes and mice. They will also study the biological steps DSTYK uses to help cancer cells survive chemo so future treatments can be designed.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could make chemotherapy more effective for people with triple-negative breast cancer and help prevent or reverse drug resistance.
How similar studies have gone: This approach is relatively new: prior work has linked DSTYK to chemoresistance and early lab results are encouraging, but exosome-based DSTYK silencing in TNBC is largely untested clinically.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Toledo Health Sci Campus
Toledo, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Jiang, Yong — University of Toledo Health Sci Campus
- Study coordinator: Jiang, Yong
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Genomic study to understand how genetics and epigenetics shape triple-negative breast cancer in African ancestry
This study looks at how inherited genes and gene activity affect triple-negative breast cancer in people of African ancestry to better understand why outcomes can be worse.
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Co-Targeting IL-6 and CDK4/6 to Prevent TNBC in Women Veterans
A study aims to block two cancer-promoting pathways (IL-6 and CDK4/6) to prevent or reduce progression of triple-negative breast cancer in women veterans.
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Linking heavy metal exposure to a tougher breast cancer type (TNBC)
Aimed at understanding how heavy metals like cadmium might trigger a dangerous breast cancer type (TNBC) in people, especially those with BRCA1 risk, to identify possible future treatment strategies.
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Dormancy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: How Liver and Skin Metastases Go Quiet or Reactivate
Researchers will study how dormant cancer cells in liver and skin metastases of triple-negative breast cancer become quiescent or wake up, using organ-on-chip models and single-cell analysis to map chromatin states.
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Rac-enhanced CAR-Macrophages against TNBC
A new cell therapy approach uses engineered macrophages with a CAR and Rac2 activation to target and kill triple-negative breast cancer cells expressing CSPG4.
-
A new peptide therapy to help treat metastatic triple-negative breast cancer
A new peptide therapy called PEG-FUD is being tested to help treat metastatic triple-negative breast cancer by normalizing the tumor environment to improve treatment delivery.
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.