Award
National Cancer Institute 5R01CA277966-04
Macrophage-based Therapy and Immune Checkpoint Blockade for Glioblastoma
Recipient
CLEVELAND CLINIC LERNER COM-CWRU
Award Amount
$368,288.00
Ceiling
$368,288.00
Awarded
December 10, 2025
Identifier
5R01CA277966-04
The award supports research on reprogramming tumor-associated macrophages to enhance immunotherapy for glioblastoma using BACE1 inhibition combined with immune checkpoint blockade.
Description
This project aims to reprogram tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) from tumor-promoting (pTAMs, M2-like) to tumor-suppressive (sTAMs, M1-like) using BACE1 inhibition by MK-8931 (Verubecestat). The hypothesis is that this reprogramming will synergize with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) to improve therapeutic efficacy. The study will assess the impact of TAM reprogramming on the immune microenvironment and evaluate the combined therapy's effectiveness.