Research And Grants

Targeting DMG Microenvironment with LSD1 Inhibitors

Diffuse Midline Gliomas or DMGs are a type of brain cancer that primarily arise in children and are incurable. This proposal will evaluate a novel therapy for DMG that targets an enzyme called LSD1.  We chose to focus on LSD1 as we have preliminary data that LSD1 turns off the immune system in DMG and so blocking LSD1 can activate the immune system against DMG.  We will evaluate a clinically relevant inhibitor to block LSD1, which is called bomedemstat, and is currently in late phase clinical trials in adults with cancer.  The investigative team is comprised of three laboratories with complementary expertise that has collaborated for years: the Becher lab has expertise in DMG biology and the development of mouse model systems to evaluate new therapies; the Chandra lab has a long track record of evaluating small molecules that block LSD1 in brain tumor models;  and the Bernstein lab has expertise in the basic biology of how proteins such as LSD1 work in cancer.