# Heparan Sulfate in Prostate Cancer

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA · 2020 · $539,856

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most prevalent forms of malignancy and the second most common cause of
cancer-related death in men. Uncovering novel mechanisms that control prostatic tumorigenesis may advance
development of more effective therapeutics to treat this life-threatening disease. Heparan sulfate (HS), a type of
polysaccharide, is an essential component of the cell microenvironment and plays an important role in cell-cell
and cell-matrix interaction and signaling. Recent studies reported that expression of HS-synthesizing and
modifying genes are dysregulated in human PCa specimens. Currently, it is not known what causes this
aberrant HS expression, and, more importantly, what are the functional consequences of the aberrant HS
expression in prostatic tumorigenesis. In this application, we propose to test our novel hypothesis “Pten-loss
in prostate leads to aberrant HS expression creating a unique cellular environment that potentiates
prostatic tumorigenesis” by pursuing the following three Specific Aims: 1. Determine if aberrant HS
expression in human prostate epithelial cells is induced by Pten-loss and correlates with malignancy of Pten-
null human PCa; 2. Determine if aberrant HS expression induced by Pten-loss potentiates prostatic
tumorigenesis; 3. Determine if aberrant HS expression induced by Pten-loss potentiates PCa-associated
inflammation. The proposed studies will use both novel and established genetic, cellular, biochemical and
bioinformatics approaches in conjunction with in vitro cell function and in vivo human and mouse PCa models.
These serial investigations are anticipated to delineate a novel mechanism that drives aberrant HS expression
in PCa, reveal the aberrant HS expression to be a novel biomarker for PCa early diagnosis and prognosis, and
elucidate the pivotal roles and their underlying molecular mechanisms of the aberrant HS expression in prostatic
tumorigenesis, which likely will contribute to the development of novel therapeutics for PCa treatment.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9994729
- **Project number:** 5U01CA225784-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Houjian Cai
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $539,856
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-04-13 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9994729

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9994729, Heparan Sulfate in Prostate Cancer (5U01CA225784-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9994729. Licensed CC0.

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