# MicroRNA regulation of endothelial DNA repair to enhance anti-tumor immunity

> **NIH NIH R01** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $382,183

## Abstract

Project Summary
Endothelial cells play an important role in regulating several aspects of the tumor microenvironment. Our lab
has identified miR-103 as a radiation inducible miR that exacerbates DNA damage and has an overall tumor
suppressive effect in preclinical tumor models. We also discovered that this miR targets a DNA sensor three
prime exonuclease TREX1. This enzyme has important roles in preventing type I interferon signaling and
autoimmune activation. Our pilot studies show that miR-103 disruption of TREX1 leads to an increase in
cellular and molecular mediators of inflammation in tumors. In this proposal, we will investigate A) How this
miR-103 pathway in the tumor cells affects the immune microenvironment? B) What are the relative
contributions of TREX1 in DNA damage dependent and independent signaling in the vasculature and finally C)
How to genetically and target TREX1 pathway in vivo and exploit some of the pathways upregulated by the
disruption of TREX1. Our studies will establish a new paradigm to provoke potent anti-tumor immunity using
miR-mediated disruption of DNA repair, which enhances `danger signals' in the tumor microenvironment.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10147751
- **Project number:** 5R01HL143803-04
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Sudarshan Anand
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $382,183
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-20 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10147751

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10147751, MicroRNA regulation of endothelial DNA repair to enhance anti-tumor immunity (5R01HL143803-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10147751. Licensed CC0.

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