# The malignant microenvironment in early cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

> **NIH NIH R03** · THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $78,000

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
How the skin microenvironment contributes to proliferation of malignant CD4+ T cells in
cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is not well understood. We and others show that
immunosuppressive macrophages are present in CTCL lesional skin and express Toll
Like Receptor-4 (TLR4), signaling through which modifies macrophage phenotype and
function. We also find that fibronectin, a major component of the skin extracellular matrix
(ECM) is aberrantly expressed in CTCL skin in the form of an alternatively spliced
isoform EDA, a ligand for TLR4. Here we use an optimized immune competent murine
model for CTCL to study malignant CTCL microenvironment. We propose to investigate
two interrelated aims in this setting. 1) Determine the role of the TLR4-EDA pathway on
CTCL tumor growth and 2) Determine the impact of TLR4-EDA signaling on
macrophage phenotype and function. This work will provide valuable information on the
interplay between ECM dysregulation and tumor immunosuppression in CTCL and may
improve understanding of macrophage mediated immune suppression in general.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10290730
- **Project number:** 1R03CA252818-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Neda Nikbakht
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $78,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-08-01 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10290730

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10290730, The malignant microenvironment in early cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (1R03CA252818-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10290730. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*