# Metabolic Rewiring Promotes AA PCa by Regulating Stromal-Epithelial Interaction

> **NIH NIH R01** · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · 2021 · $379,407

## Abstract

The long-term objective of our research plan is to reduce the disproportionate effects of prostate cancer on
African American men. In this application, we have used the technique of metabolomic profiling to uncover
underlying biochemical differences between prostate cancers of African American and European American
origin. Metabolomics describes the science of quantifying the levels of metabolites (e.g., small molecules) that
are the byproducts of cellular metabolism. That is to say, in this kind of analysis we are measuring the
biochemical entities (or metabolites) that are produced by the functional machinery of the cell. With knowledge
of the identity of specific metabolites we can infer the biological processes that produced them, thus gaining
insight into a cell’s metabolism. Given this, a guiding principle of application is that unique biochemical
differences exist between prostate cancers of African American and European American origin and that these
differences can influence the tumors and their surrounding cells termed stroma such that together they can
promote the progression of the tumors. Since African American prostate cancer grow and progress more
rapidly than European American tumors, our studies will potentially address some of the causes underlying
prostate cancer health disparity. In addition, it will also build a first-of-its-kind biomarker panel that can predict
cancer recurrence in ancestry verified African American men with prostate cancer. In this proposal, we will i)
identify the biochemical mechanism that drives elevated levels of inosine in African American Prostate Cancer,
ii) evaluate the function of elevated inosine in making African American tumors aggressive and invoke tumor
promoting properties in the surrounding stromal cells and iii) develop plasma based metabolic markers for
biochemical recurrence in African American men. At the conclusion of this study, we will have developed a
racially derived metabolomic model for prostate cancer as well as identified candidate pathways for future drug
targeting. We would have also built a proof-of-principle metabolite-based test with the ability to predict cancer
recurrence based on the ancestry of the patient. In the longer term, this test will be validated and translated
into a clinical assay that should have the ability to predict the recurrence of prostate cancer in an ancestry
informed fashion in prostate cancer patients.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10201526
- **Project number:** 5R01CA227559-03
- **Recipient organization:** BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Ganesh S Palapattu
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $379,407
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10201526

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10201526, Metabolic Rewiring Promotes AA PCa by Regulating Stromal-Epithelial Interaction (5R01CA227559-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10201526. Licensed CC0.

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