Identifying properties of tumour suppressive pericytes for cancer therapy (PERISUPPRESS)
Worldwide Cancer Research
CERCA Institution
Non-transformed co-habitant cells, defined as stroma, play key roles in the development and progression of tumours. Thus, understanding their function is instrumental for the efficacious eradication of the disease. Taking advantage of computational analyses, a unique collection of prostate cancer (PCa) mouse models, and our know-how expertise in pericyte biology, we have identified that pericytes inform about PCa recurrence and metastasis. Here, we postulate that the study of molecular cues governing the pericyte-cancer cell relationship provides an innovative perspective of the aggressive properties of cancer cells. This may serve to define therapeutic strategies that would be missed in a classical tumour cell-centred discovery approach. PERISUPRESS aims to identify the molecular and cellular mechanisms which promote tumour suppressive properties in pericytes by: (1) a discovery approach to identify pericyte-related molecular cues associated with PCa progression; (2) the study of the impact of pericyte-specific molecular programs on PCa progression; (3) the identification of pericyte-related vulnerabilities associated to PCa progression. This will be done through awell-balanced experimental plan which includes mouse models and patient-derived samples from PCa at different disease grades, computational biology and multiple in vitro and in vivo functional and mechanistic approaches. In summary, the study of pericyte biology in PCa has the potential to open a new window in the comprehension and treatment of aggressive PCa that may also be applied to other types of cancer.
2.1 Biological and endogenous factors