Targeting B7-H3 to slow aggressive group 3 childhood medulloblastoma
Official title: Silencing B7-H3 mitigates tumor aggressiveness in group 3 medulloblastoma
Funded at University of Nebraska Medical Center · NIH-11252537 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests a drug-like compound that blocks the B7-H3 protein to try to slow growth of aggressive group 3 medulloblastoma in children.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R03 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Nebraska Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Omaha, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2025 |
| Project end | December 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $76,750 |
| NIH project number | 5R03CA297351-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11252537 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
The ultimate target population would be children diagnosed with group 3 medulloblastoma, especially those with high-risk features such as 17p deletions.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with other medulloblastoma subgroups or tumors that do not express B7-H3 are unlikely to benefit from this specific approach.
What this research studies
Researchers are focusing on group 3 medulloblastoma, a high-risk childhood brain tumor, and a protein called B7-H3 that helps these tumors grow and spread. In lab-grown tumor cells they restored a brain microRNA and silenced B7-H3, which reduced tumor cell growth and invasiveness. They screened many molecules and found a lead compound called B7-H3-Ni1 that killed tumor cells at low micromolar doses in cell experiments. The project aims to show how blocking B7-H3 works at the molecular level as a first step toward a targeted therapy for this subgroup.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to a new targeted treatment that slows tumor growth, reduces spread, and may improve survival for children with group 3 medulloblastoma.
How similar studies have gone: Laboratory studies have already shown that reducing B7-H3 or restoring miR-1253 can slow these tumor cells, and the identified compound Ni1 is a novel, early-stage candidate showing promise in cell models.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mahapatra, Sidharth — University of Nebraska Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Mahapatra, Sidharth
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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.