Priyabrata Mukherjee
University of Oklahoma-Health Sciences Center, OK·Biomedical Engineering
Tumors are more than cancer cells. They are surrounded by supporting cells and blood vessels, together called the tumor microenvironment (TME).
- Fields
Biomedical Engineering
Pharmacology
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
gold nanoparticles
nanomedicine
protein corona
- Grants
- 3 known grants, through Dec 2029
What they work on
- Identify which regions of IGFBP2 drive crosstalk among ovarian cancer cells, fibroblasts and endothelial cells, using the way 20 nm gold nanoparticles interact with the protein.
- Silence IGFBP2 with siRNA in cell culture and in mouse xenograft models to test whether it drives multicellular crosstalk and tumor growth in ovarian cancer.
- Capture and identify proteins that collect in the protein corona of self-therapeutic 20 nm gold nanoparticles, compared with inactive 100 nm particles, using ovarian cancer and normal cell lysates.
- Validate gold nanoparticle-captured proteins, such as SMNDC1 and PPA1, as therapeutic targets for tumor growth and therapy resistance in animal models.
- Test whether adding gold nanoparticles to AuroLiposomes shifts cell uptake toward caveolar endocytosis, reducing lysosomal degradation of siRNA against the metabolic switch protein MICU1.
- Measure the pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, toxicity and anti-tumor efficacy of MICU1 siRNA AuroLiposomes in patient-derived xenograft and syngeneic mouse models of ovarian cancer.
More about the research
Signals passed among these cells help explain why ovarian and pancreatic cancers often have poor outcomes and resist therapy. The lab uses gold nanoparticles (GNPs) in an unusual way: as active tools that bind and block disease-promoting proteins, not just as drug carriers. The team discovered that 20 nm GNPs are "self-therapeutic." They bind heparin-binding growth factors (HB-GFs), proteins that promote blood vessel growth and tumor growth, and change the proteins' shape. In ovarian cancer models, this slowed tumor growth, spread and drug resistance without toxicity. The three projects build on this finding. They aim to identify the proteins driving tumor cell crosstalk, discover new drug targets, and deliver gene-silencing therapies.
Why it matters
Patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer and pancreatic cancer often face drug resistance and poor outcomes. This work could identify new therapeutic targets, such as IGFBP2, SMNDC1 and PPA1. It could also provide a more efficient, nontoxic way to deliver siRNA gene-silencing drugs, including treatments that restore normal tumor metabolism. The target-discovery approach might later extend to diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and rheumatoid arthritis.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Protein-nanoparticle interaction to study multicellular crosstalk within ovarian tumor microenviroment
NIH · Jan 2025 – Dec 2029
Exploiting gold nanoparticle as a probe to identify therapeutic targets
NIH · Dec 2021 – Nov 2027
Normalizing aberrant metabolism in ovarian cancer by a unique drug delivery system
NIH · Jan 2021 – Dec 2026
Closest labs
Pankaj Singh
University of Oklahoma-Health Sciences Center, OK·Biochemistry
Test whether blocking PADI1, an enzyme that chemically modifies arginine in proteins, or its downstream metabolic pathways prevents FOLFIRINOX resistance in pancreatic cancer cells, organoids and patient-derived xenografts.
Hernan Flores-Rozas
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, FL·Medicine & Clinical Research
Expand the center's physical and virtual biorepositories into a single access point for diverse, well-annotated tumor specimens from Florida and California patient populations.
Benjamin Spike
University of Utah, UT·Biology
Track how CRIPTO (CR1) drives cell state changes at different stages of breast cancer metastasis, using mouse transplant models with patient-derived cancer cells, bioengineered systems and single-cell RNA sequencing.
The school
University of Oklahoma-Health Sciences Center: 11 labs on PI Pages, $474M a year on research, 31 research doctorates a year.
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