# The role of tumor endothelium-specific prion-gene PRND in epithelial ovarian cancer

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS EL PASO · 2022 · $213,283

## Abstract

Project Summary
Among all of the gynecological cancers, ovarian cancer shows high clinical challenge because it is difficult to be
detected in the early stage and it has the highest mortality rate. Despite advances and the development of
diagnostic tools such as biomarkers and detection techniques, ovarian cancer remains a fatal cancer with high
progression. There are different types of ovarian cancer based on histological classification; Epithelial Ovarian
Cancer (EOC) is the most common. EOC is identified in over 80% of women at late-stage with complications
include the spread of tumor implants throughout the peritoneal cavity. Thus, it is necessary to find new
biomarkers with high specificity and sensitivity to detect ovarian cancer in the early stages of disease. Recently,
we identified a highly conserved membrane-associated prion-like protein Doppel that express only in tumors and
regulate the functions of VEGF in tumors. Furthermore, we demonstrated that Doppel interacts and collaborates
with VEGFR2 to stimulate tumor angiogenesis. Previous studies thus confirmed our conjecture that Doppel is a
TEC-specific marker and an optimal target for anti-tumor therapy. We hypothesize that Doppel drives ovarian
cancer progression. The ultimate goals of this proposal are to evaluate whether Doppel expression could be
utilized as an EOC-specific serum biomarker and to develop a novel therapeutic strategy by targeting Doppel
against both platinum-sensitive and platinum-resistant EOCs. The two specific aims of this study are: (1) To
assess Doppel as a serum biomarker and the degree of Doppel expression in ovarian cancers and (2) To study
the role of Doppel in malignant ascites formation in a microfluidic-based organoid and orthotopic model of EOC.
We will shed lights into the processes that regulate and intensify the Doppel-regulated ascites formation in
ovarian tumors. The proposed research will elucidate the relationship between Doppel expression, malignant
ascites formation, and neoangiogenesis in ovarian cancers. The homologous similarity between human and
murine Doppel protein also suggest that a candidate mouse anti-Doppel mAb can be translated into clinical use
by humanizing it.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10529033
- **Project number:** 1R21CA264627-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS EL PASO
- **Principal Investigator:** Taslim A Al-Hilal
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $213,283
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10529033

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10529033, The role of tumor endothelium-specific prion-gene PRND in epithelial ovarian cancer (1R21CA264627-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10529033. Licensed CC0.

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