Expression of CSPG4 on Tumor Cells (2023)
Undergraduate: James Issa
Faculty Advisor: Barbara Savoldo
Department: Cancer Biology (Lineberger)
Following heart disease, cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Specifically, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most observed malignancy worldwide, and approximately 600,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States. HNSCC develops in the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, and throat. HNSCC has the ability to metastasize to various parts of the body, leaving a worse prognosis and an increased likelihood of death. While cytotoxic chemotherapy exists as a method of treatment, clinical options are limited and survival is poor. Thus, new therapies are needed. The novel proteoglycan CSPG4 (Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan-4, also referred to as NG2) has been the forefront of squamous cancer cell research. Increasing the expression of CSPG4 on tumor cells allows for CAR T-cells, a laboratory modified immune cell, to better target the tumor cells through increased recognition in order to treat head and neck squamous cell carcinoma more efficiently. Since HNSCC expresses CSPG4 at low levels, we hypothesize that the
epigenetic drugs will upregulate CSPG4.