# A role of FAM3B in suppressing prostate cancer progression

> **NIH VA I01** · SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA VETERANS HEALTH CARE · 2022 · —

## Abstract

The recent development and FDA approval of a number of new drugs heralded a new era of prostate cancer
therapy. However, metastatic prostate cancer remains a fatal disease. Thus, there is a critical need to identify
prostate cancers that will progress to metastatic and develop effective therapies to treat them early to stop
disease progression. The proposed study addresses these critical areas of need. In our preliminary studies, via
an unbiased analysis of close to 400 clinical samples and subsequent experimental validation, we identified
loss of the FAM3B (family with sequence similarity 3B) gene as a potential driver of metastatic progression of
prostate cancer. We further found that FAM3B loss leads to diminished oxidative phosphorylation and
enhanced aerobic glycolysis, which is a known mechanism of prostate cancer progression.
Building on these novel findings, we hypothesize that loss of FAM3B drives prostate cancer progression to an
advanced stage and that this is mediated, at least in part, by suppressing oxidative phosphorylation and
promoting aerobic glycolysis. This hypothesis will be tested by two specific aims that employ clinically relevant
model systems and clinical datasets. Aim 1 will dissect the mechanism by which FAM3B loss modulates
glucose metabolism in driving disease progression. Aim 2 will establish FAM3B loss as a driver of prostate
cancer progression.
By interrogating the FAM3B-glucose-metabolism axis from a mechanistic and functional perspective, the
proposed study will reveal a new and important mechanism driving prostate cancer progression, provide a new
marker to better identify those patients, including the Veterans, with aggressive disease so that they can be
treated early and effectively. Moreover, understanding the precise mechanisms by which FAM3B loss impacts
glucose metabolism and drives disease progression will aid in future design of inhibitors that specifically target
FAM3B-low prostate cancer. Overall, the application addresses an area that is highly relevant to the prostate
cancer field, from both biological and translational perspectives.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10454772
- **Project number:** 5I01BX004929-03
- **Recipient organization:** SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA VETERANS HEALTH CARE
- **Principal Investigator:** Yan Dong
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-04-01 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10454772

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10454772, A role of FAM3B in suppressing prostate cancer progression (5I01BX004929-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10454772. Licensed CC0.

---

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