The mechanism of resistance to cancer uncovered by Sipa1 deficiency

• Project/Area Number: 21K15466
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 49070:Immunology-related
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: 徐 彦 京都大学, 医学研究科, 特定助教 (00896631)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Project Status: Granted (Fiscal Year 2021)
• Budget Amount: ¥4,680,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,080,000); Fiscal Year 2023: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000); Fiscal Year 2022: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000); Fiscal Year 2021: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
• Keywords: MSCs / Tumor microenvironment / Cancer immunotherapy / Sipa1

Outline of Research at the Start

Mice deficient of Sipa1, which encodes Rap1 GTPase-activating protein, showed significantly increased resistance to different cancer cells with increased host stromal reactions. While Sipa1 deficiency uncovered a host immune mechanism potentially capable of eradicating cancer cells via coordinated interplay between mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and immune T cells, the detail mechanism has not been demonstrated. This research is to clarify the biological significance of stromal reactions in cancer tissue microenvironment and to develop a new therapeutic strategy for cancer immunotherapy.