# Reprogramming the Tumor Microenvironment in Ovarian Cancer

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2021 · $413,104

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancies.
Most patients initially respond to chemotherapy after surgery, yet ~80% will recur with disease that becomes
resistant to treatment. Immune therapies have shown great promise, but with limited efficacy in HGSOC. The
HGSOC tumor microenvironment (TME) is highly immuno-suppressive and this is hypothesized to promote
tumor immune evasion. We have developed two new implantable syngeneic mouse ovarian tumor models that
will allow for the molecular analysis of tumor- and host-specific signals driving immune evasion. By selecting
for aggressive growth in mice, we have extensively characterized KMF cells (gains in genes for KRas, Myc,
and FAK) that exhibit many phenotypic similarities to HGSOC; intrinsic chemo-resistance and potent immune
suppression. We will focus on FAK (focal adhesion kinase), a tyrosine kinase canonically supporting cell
motility signaling. FAK is the fifth highest amplified gene in HGSOC and greater than 65% of patients exhibit
elevated FAK mRNA with poor prognostic significance. Using pharmacological FAK inhibitors, FAK knockout,
FAK re-expression, complementation, and bioinformatic analyses of KMF cells in tumor-bearing mice, we find
that FAK drives the expression of a select group of cytokines and tumor-associated surface proteins involved
in regulating tumor growth and immune evasion. Inhibiting FAK results in decreased myeloid-derived
suppressor cell (MDSC) recruitment, increased CD4 and CD8 T cell tumor infiltration, and decreased
expression of PD-L1, CD112, and CD155 checkpoint regulatory proteins on KMF cells in vivo. These changes
are consistent with a normalization or reprogramming of the ovarian TME by FAK inhibition in a tumor-intrinsic
manner. FAK inhibition also prevents bloody ascites formation in the KMF model. A second newly-developed T
antigen-driven FAK floxed mouse ovarian carcinoma model (MOVCAR) revealed that FAK loss prevents tumor
growth in syngeneic low-T mice. FAK-null MOVCAR tumors were infiltrated by CD45+ leukocytes, and when
evaluated in immune-deficient mice, orthotopic FAK-null MOVCAR tumor growth was enhanced. This proposal
will test the hypothesis that tumor-intrinsic FAK activation facilitates immune-suppressive related changes to
the TME. Aim-1 will use a new inducible FAK expression system to evaluate FAK nuclear localization- and
kinase-dependent signals driving malignancy, chemokine expression, and MDSC recruitment. Aim-2 will test
the role CD112/CD155 immune checkpoint protein expression and whether FAK inhibition may combine with
antibodies to TIGIT (T cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains) to limit tumor growth via effects on T
cells. Aim-3 will use an inducible knockout of FAK, of the related Pyk2 kinase (new model), or inducible
expression of kinase-inactive FAK in mouse endothelial cells, with the KMF implantable tumor model, to test
stromal FAK and Pyk2 signaling o...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10210241
- **Project number:** 5R01CA254342-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** David D Schlaepfer
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $413,104
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-07-03 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10210241

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10210241, Reprogramming the Tumor Microenvironment in Ovarian Cancer (5R01CA254342-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10210241. Licensed CC0.

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