Research And Grants

Targeting DIPG Through Therapeutic Dietary Intervention

DIPG remains a highly lethal disease with no effective treatment options. How DIPG cells reprogram nutrient consumption and usage via metabolic pathways to sustain their growth is not well understood. Using profiling of metabolites, we uncovered DIPG cells elevate the consumption and breakdown of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs); leucine, isoleucine and valine. Tumor cells also highly express the enzyme BCAT1, involved in breakdown of BCAAs. We believe that DIPG cells require BCAT1 to grow in cell culture. Our work aims to establish the reason why DIPG tumors depend on the metabolism of BCAAs, using methods to track the nutrients they are converted into, and by investigating why DIPG cells fail to grow when losing BCAT1 function. Second, we aim to test if there are therapeutic benefits for patients from reducing the levels of BCAAs in the diet through tailoring food composition. These diets have previously been established as safe and effective for treating specific metabolic disorders in children. Our proposed work will help understand how specific nutrients are utilized by DIPG cells and potentially present a novel way to eradicate DIPG growth and prolong survival of patients.