Award
NIH Reporter #11252812
The Role of Schwann Cells in the Progression of Melanoma
Recipient
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
Award Amount
$437,595.00
Ceiling
$437,595.00
Awarded
December 22, 2025
Identifier
11252812
This award supports research on the role of Schwann cells in melanoma progression, focusing on immune tolerance mechanisms and developing therapies to improve immunotherapy outcomes.
Description
The project investigates how Schwann cells (SCs), principal glia of the peripheral nervous system, modulate the tumor microenvironment (TME) and facilitate cancer progression, particularly in melanoma. It aims to determine the mechanisms by which repair SCs promote immune tolerance and impede tertiary lymphoid structure (TLS) formation, and to develop targeted therapies to break immune tolerance and enhance current immunotherapies such as anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA4.