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Projekt Druckansicht

Sequenz-spezifische DNA Rekombination als Ursache genomischer Mutationen im Neuroblastom

Fachliche Zuordnung Kinder- und Jugendmedizin
Förderung Förderung von 2018 bis 2024
Projektkennung Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 398299703
 
Erstellungsjahr 2024

Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse

The project RecoN focussed on understanding the origins of complex structural genomic alterations involved in pediatric solid tumor formation with the goal to leverage these mechanistic insights to develop new therapies. During this project, we found that a variety of pediatric solid tumors, especially neuroblastomas and alveolar rhabdomyosarcomas, are highly sensitive to pharmacologic ATR inhibition. Mechanistically, replication stress induced by various oncogenic factors was found to contribute to this exquisite sensitivity. Based on our observations, clinical trials with ATR inhibitors were launched in Europe and the USA, which will hopefully identify pediatric patient populations that could benefit from such therapies. In the second part of this project that focused on elucidating the origins of structural variants, we made the surprising observation that most such alterations involve previously understudied extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA). During collaborative research efforts with groups around the globe, others and we described new principles involved in ecDNA genesis, gene regulation and propagation in cancers. This identified new mechanisms involved in oncogene deregulation and cancer evaluation, with potentially important implications for the development of therapy resistance. Thus, the Emmy Noether programme enabled me to identify an emerging research field of interest (ecDNA) and its funding allowed us to make the first of hopefully many discoveries in this field.

Projektbezogene Publikationen (Auswahl)

 
 

Zusatzinformationen

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