Award
National Institute of General Medical Sciences 5R01GM150196-04
Targeting Wnt signaling pathway
Recipient
University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Award Amount
$409,811.00
Ceiling
$409,811.00
Awarded
April 02, 2026
Identifier
5R01GM150196-04
This NIH-funded project focuses on developing peptide-based inhibitors to target protein-protein interactions in the Wnt signaling pathway for cancer therapy, involving both in vitro and in vivo studies.
Description
The project aims to develop novel strategies to disrupt β-catenin/BCL9 and β-catenin/TCF protein-protein interactions, leading to new therapeutic agents targeting Wnt signaling. It involves designing helical sulfono-γ-AApeptides that mimic α-helical domains of proteins, which are cell-permeable and can inhibit cancer cell growth with hyperactive Wnt/β-catenin signaling. The research includes in vitro disruption of PPIs, mechanistic studies, and in vivo validation using mouse tumor models.