# Elucidate genetic regulation of GBM differentiation

> **NIH NIH R21** · YALE UNIVERSITY · 2023 · $251,250

## Abstract

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive form of primary brain cancer with extremely poor
prognosis. New approaches for improved treatment of this disease are desperately needed. Accumulating
evidence suggests that the lack of effective treatment for this disease is because the existing regimens cannot
effectively eliminate glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs), the root of GBM development. One promising approach
to eliminating GSCs is to induce GSC differentiation. Unfortunately, the development of differentiation therapy
for GBM has been limited by our poor understanding of the biology of GSC differentiation. In this application,
we propose to characterize genetic regulation of GSC differentiation and validate genes that can be targeted
for effective GBM differentiation therapy. As preliminary work, we identified a group of genes, which potentially
regulate GSC differentiation toward specific lineages through a combination of RNAi screening and single-cell
RNA sequencing approach. In this application, we will characterize lead GSC differentiation regulatory
candidate genes in Aim 1, and to determine the therapeutic potential of selected genes for GSC differentiation
therapy in Aim 2. Success of this project will lead to identification of novel GSC differentiation regulators that
can be potentially targeted for improved treatment of GBM.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10642431
- **Project number:** 1R21NS131852-01
- **Recipient organization:** YALE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jiangbing Zhou
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $251,250
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-04-01 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10642431

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10642431, Elucidate genetic regulation of GBM differentiation (1R21NS131852-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10642431. Licensed CC0.

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