2024-25 Team Science Grantees: Angela Belcher, PhD, Lan Coffman, MD, PhD & Kripa K. Varanasi, PhD
About Project
Investigating Physico-Chemical Properties of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells as Biophysical Markers for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer
PROJECT SUMMARY
Early detection of high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is one of the most challenging problems in oncology, yet early detection is undoubtedly the most effective way to overcome the dismal survival rate of HGSOC. Recent work describing the fallopian tube (FT) as the origin of most HGSOC was a paradigm shifting discovery. However, translating this finding into early detection strategies remains difficult due to the small size of precursor lesions, known as STICs, and the relative inaccessibility of the FT. To overcome these barriers, it is critical to cross borders of scientific disciplines, merging expertise from different fields to tackle this problem. The Coffman lab recently demonstrated that certain changes occur in the tissue of the FT prior to cancer formation that are associated with STIC lesions. Specifically, a subset of stem cells within the FT develop tumor-supportive properties before the onset of invasive cancer. Interestingly, recent work demonstrated changes in the physical properties of the tissue surrounding the STIC lesions. We hypothesize that stem cells have altered physical properties which support STIC lesion formation, and these structural changes can be characterized to improve early detection strategies. This proposal will establish a new collaboration between the Coffman, Varanasi, and Belcher labs to merge cell biology and engineering expertise to investigate new methods for HGSOC early detection. This interdisciplinary work will generate critical insights into the pathophysiology of HGSOC initiation as well as provide novel tools to improve methods for HGSOC early detection. Importantly, changes which impact the physical properties of the STIC environment are expected to extend beyond the STIC environment thus enabling a larger and more feasible area for early detection.
