# Targeting fibrosis to change cancer outcomes

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI · 2024 · $48,960

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Scleroderma (SSc) patients have more than a 300% increased risk of lung cancer, or Cancerous Scleroderma
(CSc). SSc is a chronic autoimmune connective tissue disease of unknown etiology, and has the highest
morbidity of all rheumatologic diseases. Moreover, aging is a key risk factor in SSc patients for pathological
airway remodeling or idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), the leading cause of death in SSc patients. Intriguingly,
aging is associated with increased senescent cells, likely contributing to increased fibrosis. Published reports
show that fibroblasts from IPF patients are senescent and produce a pro-tumorigenic senescence associated
secretory phenotype (SASP), suggesting a potential key role for senescent myofibroblasts, the key cell type
responsible for fibrosis, in driving the pathogenesis of CSc. Although it is evident that there is a tight link
between fibrosis and cancer in CSc, the directionality of this progression and molecular circuits linking the two
are unknown. Published data by our lab show that the TNF superfamily member 14, LIGHT, signals through
LTβR expressed on myofibroblasts to drive collagen deposition and α-smooth muscle actin hypertrophy – the
hallmarks of fibrosis. Our novel preliminary data suggests that senescent myofibroblasts drive cancer in a
LIGHT dependent manner: In gain-of-function studies, intratracheal (I.T.) LIGHT led to enhanced fibrosis and
senescent myofibroblasts in aged mice, while in loss-of-function studies comparing aged to young mice given
lung adenocarcinoma cells I.T., LIGHT deletion abrogated cancer engraftment in aged mice, while young WT
and LIGHT-/- mice were protected from cancer engraftment. Additionally, in a mouse lung organoid system, we
showed that senescent myofibroblasts expressing LTβR increase tumor growth. Therefore, we hypothesize
that senescent myofibroblasts are responsible for driving pulmonary fibrosis in scleroderma and
promote lung cancer through expression of a SASP. Notably, in a novel model we established of CSc, LIGHT
deletion decreased fibrosis, cancer engraftment, and senescent myofibroblasts. One key question is how LIGHT
affects senescent myofibroblasts to drive cancer, therefore we will address this through the following Specific
Aims: 1) To identify the molecular circuits that LIGHT uses to drive cancerous scleroderma and 2) To directly
investigate the role of senescent myofibroblasts in promoting cancer ex vivo. For aim 1, we will modulate LIGHT
signaling and fibrosis in mice and induce our novel model of CSc, monitoring disease. For aim 2, we will use
RNA-sequencing and human lung organoids to identify the molecular pathways that drive CSc downstream of
LIGHT in senescent myofibroblasts to translate findings from mouse to human. The research described in aim 1
will provide an understanding as to how LIGHT signaling drives CSc pathogenesis, while the research described
in aim 2 will establish the role of senescent myofibroblasts as the key p...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11174594
- **Project number:** 5F31CA284547-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
- **Principal Investigator:** Joey Emery Breckenridge
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $48,960
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-08-15 → 2028-08-16

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11174594

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11174594, Targeting fibrosis to change cancer outcomes (5F31CA284547-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11174594. Licensed CC0.

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