Targeting clear cell kidney cancer by using faulty RNA processing
Triggering Aberrant RNA Processing for RCC Therapy
This work tries to turn mistakes in tumor RNA into targets that could help the immune system better fight clear cell kidney cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11294297 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
The team has found that clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) tumors commonly keep pieces of RNA called retained introns, which can create unusual proteins the immune system might see as foreign. They plan to study why this happens (including reduced nonsense-mediated decay) and to trigger or amplify these RNA-processing errors so tumors display more of these novel antigens. The research uses human tumor data, tumor samples, and laboratory models to test whether increasing these antigens can make immunotherapies like PD-1 blockers work more often. Their goal is to find ways to make resistant ccRCC tumors more visible to the immune system and more likely to respond to treatment.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with clear cell renal cell carcinoma—especially those whose tumors do not respond to current immunotherapies or who show evidence of retained introns—would be most relevant to this line of research.
Not a fit: Patients with non–clear cell kidney cancers or those without retained-intron–high tumors are less likely to directly benefit from this specific approach.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could make immunotherapy effective for more people with clear cell kidney cancer by producing more immune targets on tumors.
How similar studies have performed: Prior work shows endogenous retroviral antigens can help explain immune responses in RCC, but deliberately provoking retained-intron antigens as a therapy is a newer and less-tested strategy.
Where this research is happening
Chapel Hill, United States
- Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill — Chapel Hill, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kim, William Y. — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Kim, William Y.
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.