IU cancer researcher receives NCI grant to examine how immune cells support breast cancer development

Reviewed by Megan Craig, M.Sc.Oct 3 2023

A breast cancer researcher at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center received a five-year, $2.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to examine how certain immune cells support metastatic breast cancer development-;and how to stop it.

Cells called macrophages usually perform essential tasks as part of the immune system, but breast cancer cells can hijack them to protect cancer cells and help them grow. When this happens, they become tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs).

Our goal is to interrupt that communication process between those two cell types – the tumor cells and the macrophages – and in that way, prevent metastasis from happening."

Liz Yeh, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at IU School of Medicine and researcher at the Vera Bradley Foundation Center for Breast Cancer Research at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center

Tumor-associated macrophages are abundant in breast cancer tumors and promote metastasis, or the spread of cancer. Yeh's research lab is interested in understanding more about these TAMS and exactly how they interact with the tumor cells. One strategy to target that interaction is through a protein kinase called HUNK.

"We found that the presence of this kinase HUNK in breast cancer cells leads to communication with tumor-associated macrophages to promote this metastatic process," Yeh said. "Kinases are a popular drug target because you can very specifically target their enzymatic activity."

Yeh's research will look at ways to directly target HUNK instead of targeting the TAM cells. Yeh hopes her research team can break the communication cycle between the tumor cells and the TAMS to re-establish anti-tumor immunity. These findings have the potential to identify new methods for treating metastasis.

Yeh's research lab is also working on a drug discovery project to identify inhibitors (a molecule that binds to an enzyme to block its activity) for HUNK. The lab has long focused on understanding the role of HUNK in aggressive types of breast cancer, including triple negative and HER2-positive breast cancers.