# Canine MHC-I genotyping and tumor specific neoantigen determination

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA · 2024 · $436,631

## Abstract

Abstract
Being naturally occurring and with an intact immune system, spontaneous cancers in pet dogs have the
potential to effectively bridge a current gap between preclinical models and human clinical trials, advancing
cancer immunotherapy. However, a current lack of essential resources creates roadblocks to the effective use
of canine cancers. The deficiency is clearly seen in predicting tumor-specific neoantigen (TSNA), attractive
targets in cancer treatment and prevention. TSNAs arise when intracellular mutant peptides, created by
cancer-associated somatic alterations, are presented by the cell’s histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I)
molecules. Hence, MHC-I genotyping is a prerequisite for TSNA prediction. However, with few MHC-I alleles
known to date, MHC-I genotyping for the dog is a significant challenge. Moreover, because of the very limited
MHC-I protein crystal structures and experimental peptide binding data, there currently lack public tools to
predict TSNAs specifically for the dog, in contrast to the human with many tools developed.
With the next generation sequencing (NGS) data published for thousands of dogs from hundreds of breeds,
now is the time to address these deficiencies. We propose to combine our expertise, NGS data analysis by
the Zhao (PI) lab and MHC-I characterization by the Hildebrand (MPI) lab, to develop software tools and data
resources for large scale MHC-I genotyping and systematic TSNA prediction for the dog. We will also
genotype MHC-I alleles of thousands of dogs sequenced and predict TSNAs for hundreds of canine tumors
characterized. We will use our proposed MHC-I genotype and TSNA discovery tools to assist a NCI-funded
immunotherapy trial via collaboration with Dr. Steven Dow, and the Vaccination Against Canine Cancer Study
(VACCS) trial via collaboration with Dr. Douglas Thamm.
By establishing resources that are critically missing at present, our work will significantly enhance the
applicability of the dog model for translational research.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10832583
- **Project number:** 5R01CA252713-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
- **Principal Investigator:** William Hildebrand
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $436,631
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-05-11 → 2026-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10832583

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10832583, Canine MHC-I genotyping and tumor specific neoantigen determination (5R01CA252713-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10832583. Licensed CC0.

---

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