# Stromal Foxf2 suppresses prostate cancer progression

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2022 · $493,644

## Abstract

Project Summary
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related death in men in the United States. Many of the
newly diagnosed patients are indolent and would not die from prostate cancer even if they are left untreated. But
lack of reliable markers to identify such indolent tumors has led to overtreatment of patients. To minimize
overtreatment, patients with a lower Gleason Score are put on active surveillance and are not treated unless
there is sign of disease progression. Although such active surveillance can minimize over-treatment, it may miss
the opportunity for early intervention of aggressive tumors. Therefore, understanding molecular mechanisms
underlying the aggressive nature of prostate cancer and identifying prognostic markers to distinguish indolent
from aggressive prostate cancers are of great clinical significance. Human prostate cancers mostly originate in
the peripheral zone (PZ). In addition, transition zone (TZ) tumors are often associated with favorable pathological
features and better recurrence-free survival. These observations lead to the hypothesis that the differences in
tissue microenvironment between the two zones influence the frequency and aggressiveness of the resulting
tumors. We compared gene expression profiles between TZ and PZ stroma by an RNA-seq analysis and identify
the transcription factor FOXF2 as one of the top genes expressed at a higher level in TZ stromal cells. We
demonstrated that elevated Foxf2 expression in prostate stromal cells suppressed growth of prostate cancer
xenografts in vivo. In Aim1, we will use genetically engineered mouse models to confirm that stromal Foxf2-
mediated signaling suppresses tumor progression. In Aim 2, we will investigate the molecular mechanisms
through which stromal Foxf2 suppresses tumor progression. In Aim 3, we will investigate how stromal FOXF2
expression is regulated.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10461677
- **Project number:** 1R01CA271457-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Li Xin
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $493,644
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-07-01 → 2027-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10461677

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10461677, Stromal Foxf2 suppresses prostate cancer progression (1R01CA271457-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10461677. Licensed CC0.

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