# RON Receptor in Pancreatic Cancer Biology and Therapy

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2020 · $306,943

## Abstract

The continued rise in annual pancreatic cancer mortalities demands urgent efforts to better understand
molecular mechanisms critical to tumor progression and therapeutic resistance. Our group and others
identified the RON tyrosine kinase receptor as an overexpressed protein and potential novel therapeutic target
in pancreatic cancer. The working hypothesis of our laboratory is that RON receptor signaling is a potent
promoter of invasive growth and survival in human pancreatic cancer cells which uniquely also helps to shape
the tumor microenvironment via its effects on myeloid cell function. Our recent studies demonstrate that RON
signaling accelerates pancreatic duct neoplasia initiated by KRAS and that RON signaling in pancreatic cancer
cells initiates a positive feedback loop driving expression of both RON itself and its cognate ligand,
macrophage stimulating protein. We believe that RON signaling thereby serves to modify both epithelial and
immune cell phenotypes to promote tumor growth, metastasis and therapeutic resistance. The goals of this
application are; 1) to understand how autocrine/paracrine RON signaling influences primary pancreatic cancer
growth, 2) determine the mechanisms by which RON signaling modifies the primary and metastatic niche to
promote tumor dissemination and metastatic outgrowth, and 3) to test RON inhibition as an immunomodulatory
strategy in preclinical models of pancreatic cancer. The findings from these studies will enhance our
understanding of RON biology and thereby serve to inform the development and further testing of RON-
directed therapies in pancreatic cancer.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9934130
- **Project number:** 5R01CA155620-09
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** ANDREW M LOWY
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $306,943
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2011-09-22 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9934130

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9934130, RON Receptor in Pancreatic Cancer Biology and Therapy (5R01CA155620-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9934130. Licensed CC0.

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