Functional proteogenomic characterization of mantle cell lymphoma

• Applicant: Dr. Julius Enßle
• Subject Area: Hematology, Oncology
• Term: from 2021 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 463138470

Lymphomas comprise a group of heterogenous hematologic diseases that are classified into indolent and aggressive types. Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) mostly presents as an aggressive lymphoma and is associated with high risk of relapse and mortality. Important risk characteristics and novel molecular therapies are mainly based on genetic studies of MCL. The proposed project aims at expanding the current characterization of MCL by quantitative proteome profiling using mass spectrometry analysis of primary MCL samples. The generated results will be further complemented with whole-exome sequencing, transcriptome sequencing data and clinical outcome data to obtain a multilevel proteogenomic dataset. The bioinformatic integration and analyis of the different dataset levels will enable us to identify proteogenomic clusters with prognostic relevance and gain insight into the underlying biological processes. Additionally, analysis of genetic vulnerabilities will allow functional validation of these findings to demonstrate potential biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets. Taken together, the objective of the proposed project is to provide a novel proteogenomic characterization of MCL and identify underlying biological processes as well as novel therapeutic strategies to improve the current MCL therapy.

• DFG Programme: WBP Position