2021 Marc and Lisa Cummins-PCF Young Investigator Award
Targeting Macrophage Lipid Metabolism to Combat Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Asmaa EL-Kenawi, PhD
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
Mentors: Kosj Yamoah, MD, PhD, Robert Gatenby, MD, Amina Zoubeidi, PhD
Description:
- Understanding how tumor-promoting and tumor-inhibiting immune cells in the tumor microenvironment contribute to disease progression and treatment resistance is critical and may reveal promising new treatment strategies.
- Dr. Asmaa Elkenawi is studying how altered macrophage metabolism promote prostate cancer progression and resistance to androgen receptor (AR)-targeted therapy.
- In this project, Dr. Elkenawi will decipher the role of mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell, in regulating macrophage tumor cell metabolic interactions.
- For clinical validation, Dr. Elkenawi will profile prostate cancer consumption and production of key metabolites using novel metabolomic-based tissue engineering approaches.
- If successful, this project will determine novel mechanisms by which altered macrophage metabolism promote prostate cancer progression and treatment resistance.
What this means to patients: Macrophages are a highly abundant cell type present in tumors that are known to support tumor growth. Dr. Elkenawi will determine the mechanisms by which macrophages promote prostate cancer growth, metabolism, and treatment resistance, and uncover promising new treatment targets. Further, this study may lead to clinical trials testing treatments that target altered macrophage metabolism as a new strategy in prostate cancer.