# Project1: The role of intravascular pressure and shear stress on tumor cell arrest, survival and proliferation in the microvascular niche

> **NIH NIH U54** · MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · 2024 · $95,400

## Abstract

Metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) is the major cause of death from colon cancer and is unresponsive to current approved immune checkpoint therapy. We have previously identified that tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) in the tumor microenvironment (TME) of mCRCs are defined by high expression of the marker gene SPP1. These TAMs interact with fibroblasts and immune cells in the TME and generate a pro-tumorigenic niche that allows cancer to flourish at distant metastatic sites. However, our understanding of the functional mechanisms by which SPP1+ TAMs promote colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis is limited. Our study focuses on understanding the influence of SPP1+ TAMs in migration and invasion in mCRC. Leveraging sophisticated three-dimensional multi-cellular microfluidic devices, we will investigate TAM functions in physiological model systems that maintain the complexity of the metastatic TME. Our hypothesis is that SPP1+ TAMs can migrate into metastatic niches and further promote tumor cell invasion through physiological barriers such as the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11187493
- **Project number:** 3U54CA261694-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** ROGER D KAMM
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $95,400
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-09-17 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11187493

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11187493, Project1: The role of intravascular pressure and shear stress on tumor cell arrest, survival and proliferation in the microvascular niche (3U54CA261694-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-05 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11187493. Licensed CC0.

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