# Purinergic Receptors in Myeloma

> **NIH CA R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2026 · $621,156

## Abstract

Project summary
The purpose of this project is to identify novel regulators of ER homeostasis in malignant
plasma cells that can be targeted to induce the death of these cells and/or prevent
upstream events that foster plasma cell malignancy. Our focus is multiple myeloma (MM),
a deadly malignancy of antibody-secreting plasma cells that typically reside in and disrupt
the bone marrow. Though current therapies often reduce tumor burden in MM, life-
threatening relapse remains the norm. Therefore, new therapies targeting the unique
biology and biochemistry of myeloma cells are needed. This project centers on the
hypothesis that myeloma cells in the bone marrow and their premalignant precursors
obtain requisite signals to avoid cell death by sensing extracellular ATP with receptors
belonging to the purinergic family of gated cation channels. We further hypothesize that
eATP is produced locally in the bone marrow for myeloma cells by osteoblastic cells via a
gap junction protein known as Panx3. Thus, consistent with our preliminary data, inhibition
of P2rX receptor signaling or Panx3 function is predicted to cause myeloma cell depletion.
We will leverage several experimental systems including a novel patient-derived xenograft
model to achieve the following objectives or answer the following questions: 1) Poison
P2rX function in premalignant and malignant plasma cells, 2) Identify key ER regulatory
nodes controlled by P2rX function, 3) Tie P2rX function in MM cells to Panx3 regulation of
the BM PC niche. These studies will provide unique and needed insights into the
specialized survival mechanisms employed by malignant plasma cells needed for new
therapy development.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11251725
- **Project number:** 5R01CA283844-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** David M Allman; DAN TOBY VOGL
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** CA
- **Fiscal year:** 2026
- **Award amount:** $621,156
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2025-01-01T00:00:00 → 2029-12-31T00:00:00

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11251725

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11251725, Purinergic Receptors in Myeloma (5R01CA283844-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-07-20 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11251725. Licensed CC0.

---

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