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Journal articles on the topic 'Cancer stem cells, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, tumor microenvironment, extracellular matrix'
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1
Truong, Linh-Huyen, and Siim Pauklin. "Pancreatic Cancer Microenvironment and Cellular Composition: Current Understandings and Therapeutic Approaches." Cancers 13, no. 19 (October 8, 2021): 5028. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers13195028.
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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains one of the most lethal human solid tumors, despite great efforts in improving therapeutics over the past few decades. In PDAC, the distinct characteristic of the tumor microenvironment (TME) is the main barrier for developing effective treatments. PDAC TME is characterized by a dense stroma, cancer-associated fibroblasts, and immune cells populations that crosstalk to the subpopulations of neoplastic cells that include cancer stem cells (CSCs). The heterogeneity in TME is also exhibited in the diversity and dynamics of acellular components, including the Extracellular matrix (ECM), cytokines, growth factors, and secreted ligands to signaling pathways. These contribute to drug resistance, metastasis, and relapse in PDAC. However, clinical trials targeting TME components have often reported unexpected results and still have not benefited patients. The failures in those trials and various efforts to understand the PDAC biology demonstrate the highly heterogeneous and multi-faceted TME compositions and the complexity of their interplay within TME. Hence, further functional and mechanistic insight is needed. In this review, we will present a current understanding of PDAC biology with a focus on the heterogeneity in TME and crosstalk among its components. We also discuss clinical challenges and the arising therapeutic opportunities in PDAC research.
2
Wang, Dan, Yuqiang Li, Heming Ge, Tarik Ghadban, Matthias Reeh, and Cenap Güngör. "The Extracellular Matrix: A Key Accomplice of Cancer Stem Cell Migration, Metastasis Formation, and Drug Resistance in PDAC." Cancers 14, no. 16 (August 18, 2022): 3998. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers14163998.
Full textAbstract:
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is rich in dense fibrotic stroma that are composed of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. A disruption of the balance between ECM synthesis and secretion and the altered expression of matrix remodeling enzymes lead to abnormal ECM dynamics in PDAC. This pathological ECM promotes cancer growth, survival, invasion, and alters the behavior of fibroblasts and immune cells leading to metastasis formation and chemotherapy resistance, which contribute to the high lethality of PDAC. Additionally, recent evidence highlights that ECM, as a major structural component of the tumor microenvironment, is a highly dynamic structure in which ECM proteins establish a physical and biochemical niche for cancer stem cells (CSCs). CSCs are characterized by self-renewal, tumor initiation, and resistance to chemotherapeutics. In this review, we will discuss the effects of the ECM on tumor biological behavior and its molecular impact on the fundamental signaling pathways in PDAC. We will also provide an overview of how the different ECM components are able to modulate CSCs properties and finally discuss the current and ongoing therapeutic strategies targeting the ECM. Given the many challenges facing current targeted therapies for PDAC, a better understanding of molecular events involving the interplay of ECM and CSC will be key in identifying more effective therapeutic strategies to eliminate CSCs and ultimately to improve survival in patients that are suffering from this deadly disease.
3
Wiedmann, Lena, Francesca De Angelis Rigotti, Nuria Vaquero-Siguero, Elisa Donato, Elisa Espinet, Andreas Trumpp, Andreas Fischer, and Juan Rodriguez-Vita. "Abstract 960: HAPLN1 increases peritoneal carcinomatosis by inducing tumor cell hyperplasticity." Cancer Research 82, no. 12_Supplement (June 15, 2022): 960. http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.am2022-960.
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Abstract Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) frequently metastasizes into the peritoneum forming peritoneal carcinomatosis, which are so far not treatable effectively. Metastasis-initiating cells need to acquire beneficial traits including cell plasticity, immune evasion, dormancy state control and organ colonization. These characteristics can be summarized in broad terms into two main processes, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and stemness. Hyaluronic acid (HA), an extracellular matrix component, is a crucial factor in regulating these processes in PDAC, but it is so far not successfully targetable. Analyzing publicly available databases by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), a signature related to HA binding was enriched in tumor samples compared to normal tissue. Hyaluronan And Proteoglycan Link Protein 1 (HAPLN1) was the top contributor to the enrichment score, being the 8th most enriched gene overall. We found that higher HAPLN1 expression correlated with shorter overall survival and that HAPLN1high patients had both, basal subtype and EMT signatures enriched. Moreover, these patients had a signature for peritoneal metastasis significantly enriched, suggesting a higher risk for peritoneal carcinomatosis. To study the role of HAPLN1 on PDAC in vitro, we stably overexpressed HAPLN1 in the murine PDAC cell line KPC. KPC-HAPLN1 cells expressed more EMT markers, more stem-related genes and changed the proteoglycan production from Aggrecan to Versican, which is known to be pro-metastatic. We found that spheroid formation, a feature of stemness, was improved in KPC-HAPLN1 vs KPC. Additionally, embedding these spheroids into matrigel led to an increased invasion of KPC-HAPLN1 cells. KPC-HAPLN1 cells improved KPC cell invasion capacities when co-cultured, indicating a paracrine effect. In vivo, intraperitoneal injection of luciferase expressing KPC cells resulted in higher luciferase activity when tumor cells expressed HAPLN1. Analyzing the peritoneal lavage (PL) from these mice, we obtained significantly more tumor cells in KPC-HAPLN1 injected mice. RNAseq data of tumor cells isolated from tumor nodules and PL showed that KPC-HAPLN1 cells acquired an increased metastatic potential and a strong immunomodulatory phenotype. Thus, we evaluated the immune cell composition of the PL by flow cytometry. Neutrophil and monocyte percentages were drastically reduced in KPC-HAPLN1 bearing mice. On the contrary, these mice had a significant increase in macrophages, which showed a reduction in pro-inflammatory gene expression. We conclude that HAPLN1 expression in tumor cells promotes a hyperplastic phenotype that facilitates invasion and colonization of the peritoneum, among others by creation of a pro-tumoral immune microenvironment. Citation Format: Lena Wiedmann, Francesca De Angelis Rigotti, Nuria Vaquero-Siguero, Elisa Donato, Elisa Espinet, Andreas Trumpp, Andreas Fischer, Juan Rodriguez-Vita. HAPLN1 increases peritoneal carcinomatosis by inducing tumor cell hyperplasticity [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 960.
4
Sun, Hongzhi, Bo Zhang, and Haijun Li. "The Roles of Frequently Mutated Genes of Pancreatic Cancer in Regulation of Tumor Microenvironment." Technology in Cancer Research & Treatment 19 (January 1, 2020): 153303382092096. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1533033820920969.
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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma has extremely high malignancy and patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma have dismal prognosis. The failure of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma treatment is largely due to the tumor microenvironment, which is featured by ample stromal cells and complicated extracellular matrix. Recent genomic analysis revealed that pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma harbors frequently mutated genes including KRAS, TP53, CDKN2A, and SMAD4, which can widely alter cellular processes and behaviors. As shown by accumulating studies, these mutant genes may also change tumor microenvironment, which in turn affects pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma progression. In this review, we summarize the role of such genetic mutations in tumor microenvironment regulation and potential mechanisms.
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Sperb, Nadine, Miltiadis Tsesmelis, and Thomas Wirth. "Crosstalk between Tumor and Stromal Cells in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma." International Journal of Molecular Sciences 21, no. 15 (July 31, 2020): 5486. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms21155486.
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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a lethal cancer. The poor prognosis calls for a more detailed understanding of disease biology in order to pave the way for the development of effective therapies. Typically, the pancreatic tumor is composed of a minority of malignant cells within an excessive tumor microenvironment (TME) consisting of extracellular matrix (ECM), fibroblasts, immune cells, and endothelial cells. Research conducted in recent years has particularly focused on cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) which represent the most prominent cellular component of the desmoplastic stroma. Here, we review the complex crosstalk between CAFs, tumor cells, and other components of the TME, and illustrate how these interactions drive disease progression. We also discuss the emerging field of CAF heterogeneity, their tumor-supportive versus tumor-suppressive capacity, and the consequences for designing stroma-targeted therapies in the future.
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Seifert, Adrian M., Julian List, Max Heiduk, Rahel Decker, Janusz von Renesse, Ann-Christin Meinecke, Daniela E. Aust, Thilo Welsch, Jürgen Weitz, and Lena Seifert. "Gamma-delta T cells stimulate IL-6 production by pancreatic stellate cells in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma." Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology 146, no. 12 (August 31, 2020): 3233–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00432-020-03367-8.
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Abstract Introduction The immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment promotes progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). γδ T cells infiltrate the pancreatic tumor stroma and support tumorigenesis through αβ T cell inhibition. Pancreatic stellate cell (PSC) activation contributes to pancreatic fibrosis in PDAC, limiting the delivery and efficacy of therapeutic agents. Whether γδ T cells have direct effects on PSC activation is unknown. Methods In this study, we analyzed tumor tissue from 68 patients with PDAC and determined the frequency and location of γδ T cells using immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. PDAC samples from the TCGA database with low and high TRGC2 expression were correlated with the expression of extracellular matrix genes. Further, PSCs were isolated from pancreatic tumor tissue and co-cultured with γδ T cells for 48 hours and cytokine production was measured using a cytometric bead array. Results γδ T cells infiltrated the pancreatic tumor stroma and were located in proximity to PSCs. A high infiltration of γδ T cells was associated with increased expression of several extracellular matrix genes in human PDAC. In vitro, γδ T cells stimulated IL-6 production by PDAC-derived PSCs. Conclusion γδ T cells activated PSCs and modulation of this interaction may enhance the efficacy of combinational therapies in human PDAC.
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Awaji, Mohammad, and Rakesh Singh. "Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts’ Functional Heterogeneity in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma." Cancers 11, no. 3 (March 1, 2019): 290. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers11030290.
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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the USA. Desmoplasia and inflammation are two major hallmarks of PDAC. Desmoplasia, composed of extracellular matrix (ECM), cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), and infiltrating immune and endothelial cells, acts as a biophysical barrier to hinder chemotherapy and actively contributes to tumor progression and metastasis. CAFs represent a multifunctional subset of PDAC microenvironment and contribute to tumor initiation and progression through ECM deposition and remodeling, as well as the secretion of paracrine factors. Attempts to resolve desmoplasia by targeting CAFs can render an adverse outcome, which is likely due to CAFs heterogeneity. Recent reports describe subsets of CAFs that assume more secretory functions, in addition to the typical myofibroblast phenotype. Here, we review the literature and describe the relationship between CAFs and inflammation and the role of the secretory-CAFs in PDAC.
8
Vaish, Utpreksha, Tejeshwar Jain, Abhi C. Are, and Vikas Dudeja. "Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: An Update on Heterogeneity and Therapeutic Targeting." International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22, no. 24 (December 14, 2021): 13408. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms222413408.
Full textAbstract:
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality in the western world, with limited therapeutic strategies and dismal long-term survival. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are key components of the pancreatic tumor microenvironment, maintaining the extracellular matrix, while also being involved in intricate crosstalk with cancer cells and infiltrating immunocytes. Therefore, they are potential targets for developing therapeutic strategies against PDAC. However, recent studies have demonstrated significant heterogeneity in CAFs with respect to their origins, spatial distribution, and functional phenotypes within the PDAC tumor microenvironment. Therefore, it is imperative to understand and delineate this heterogeneity prior to targeting CAFs for PDAC therapy.
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Yamamoto, Keisuke, Dosuke Iwadate, Hiroyuki Kato, Yousuke Nakai, Keisuke Tateishi, and Mitsuhiro Fujishiro. "Targeting the Metabolic Rewiring in Pancreatic Cancer and Its Tumor Microenvironment." Cancers 14, no. 18 (September 7, 2022): 4351. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers14184351.
Full textAbstract:
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive malignancy with only a few effective therapeutic options. A characteristic feature of PDAC is its unique tumor microenvironment (TME), termed desmoplasia, which shows extensive fibrosis and extracellular matrix deposition, generating highly hypoxic and nutrient-deprived conditions within the tumor. To thrive in this harsh TME, PDAC undergoes extensive metabolic rewiring that includes the altered use of glucose and glutamine, constitutive activation of autophagy-lysosomal pathways, and nutrient acquisition from host cells in the TME. Notably, these properties support PDAC metabolism and mediate therapeutic resistance, including immune suppression. A deeper understanding of the unique metabolic properties of PDAC and its TME may aid in the development of novel therapeutic strategies against this deadly disease.
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Padinharayil, Hafiza, Vikrant Rai, and Alex George. "Mitochondrial Metabolism in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: From Mechanism-Based Perspectives to Therapy." Cancers 15, no. 4 (February 8, 2023): 1070. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers15041070.
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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the fourteenth most common malignancy, is a major contributor to cancer-related death with the utmost case fatality rate among all malignancies. Functional mitochondria, regardless of their complex ecosystem relative to normal cells, are essential in PDAC progression. Tumor cells’ potential to produce ATP as energy, despite retaining the redox potential optimum, and allocating materials for biosynthetic activities that are crucial for cell growth, survival, and proliferation, are assisted by mitochondria. The polyclonal tumor cells with different metabolic profiles may add to carcinogenesis through inter-metabolic coupling. Cancer cells frequently possess alterations in the mitochondrial genome, although they do not hinder metabolism; alternatively, they change bioenergetics. This can further impart retrograde signaling, educate cell signaling, epigenetic modifications, chromatin structures, and transcription machinery, and ultimately satisfy cancer cellular and nuclear demands. To maximize the tumor microenvironment (TME), tumor cells remodel nearby stromal cells and extracellular matrix. These changes initiate polyclonality, which is crucial for growth, stress response, and metastasis. Here, we evaluate all the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways drawn by mitochondria in carcinogenesis, emphasizing the perspectives of mitochondrial metabolism in PDAC progression and treatment.
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Chu, Xiangyu, Yinmo Yang, and Xiaodong Tian. "Crosstalk between Pancreatic Cancer Cells and Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts in the Tumor Microenvironment Mediated by Exosomal MicroRNAs." International Journal of Molecular Sciences 23, no. 17 (August 23, 2022): 9512. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms23179512.
Full textAbstract:
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most malignant digestive tumors, characterized by a low rate of early diagnosis, strong invasiveness, and early metastasis. The abundant stromal cells, dense extracellular matrix, and lack of blood supply in PDAC limit the penetration of chemotherapeutic drugs, resulting in poor efficacy of the current treatment regimens. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are the major stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment. Tumor cells can secrete exosomes to promote the generation of activated CAFs, meanwhile exosomes secreted by CAFs help promote tumor progression. The aberrant expression of miRNAs in exosomes is involved in the interaction between tumor cells and CAFs, which provides the possibility for the application of exosomal miRNAs in the diagnosis and treatment of PDAC. The current article reviews the mechanism of exosomal miRNAs in the crosstalk between PDAC cells and CAFs in the tumor microenvironment, in order to improve the understanding of TME regulation and provide evidence for designing diagnostic and therapeutic targets against exosome miRNA in human PDAC.
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Chang, Chun-Yi, and Chien-Chi Lin. "Hydrogel Models with Stiffness Gradients for Interrogating Pancreatic Cancer Cell Fate." Bioengineering 8, no. 3 (March 13, 2021): 37. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering8030037.
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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common type of pancreatic cancer and has seen only modest improvements in patient survival rate over the past few decades. PDAC is highly aggressive and resistant to chemotherapy, owing to the presence of a dense and hypovascularized fibrotic tissue, which is composed of stromal cells and extracellular matrices. Increase deposition and crosslinking of matrices by stromal cells lead to a heterogeneous microenvironment that aids in PDAC development. In the past decade, various hydrogel-based, in vitro tumor models have been developed to mimic and recapitulate aspects of the tumor microenvironment in PDAC. Advances in hydrogel chemistry and engineering should provide a venue for discovering new insights regarding how matrix properties govern PDAC cell growth, migration, invasion, and drug resistance. These engineered hydrogels are ideal for understanding how variation in matrix properties contributes to the progressiveness of cancer cells, including durotaxis, the directional migration of cells in response to a stiffness gradient. This review surveys the various hydrogel-based, in vitro tumor models and the methods to generate gradient stiffness for studying migration and other cancer cell fate processes in PDAC.
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Geismann, Schäfer, Gundlach, Hauser, Egberts, Schneider, and Arlt. "NF-κB Dependent Chemokine Signaling in Pancreatic Cancer." Cancers 11, no. 10 (September 26, 2019): 1445. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers11101445.
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Pancreatic cancer is one of the carcinomas with the worst prognoses, as shown by its five-year survival rate of 9%. Although there have been new therapeutic innovations, the effectiveness of these therapies is still limited, resulting in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) becoming the second leading cause of cancer-related death in 2020 in the US. In addition to tumor cell intrinsic resistance mechanisms, this disease exhibits a complex stroma consisting of fibroblasts, immune cells, neuronal and vascular cells, along with extracellular matrix, all conferring therapeutic resistance by several mechanisms. The NF-κB pathway is involved in both the tumor cell-intrinsic and microenvironment-mediated therapeutic resistance by regulating the transcription of a plethora of target genes. These genes are involved in nearly all scenarios described as the hallmarks of cancer. In addition to classical regulators of apoptosis, NF-κB regulates the expression of chemokines and their receptors, both in the tumor cells and in cells of the microenvironment. These chemokines mediate autocrine and paracrine loops among tumor cells but also cross-signaling between tumor cells and the stroma. In this review, we will focus on NF-κB-mediated chemokine signaling, with an emphasis on therapy resistance in pancreatic cancer.
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Huang, Huocong, and Rolf A. Brekken. "Recent advances in understanding cancer-associated fibroblasts in pancreatic cancer." American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology 319, no. 2 (August 1, 2020): C233—C243. http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/ajpcell.00079.2020.
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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a devastating disease with a poor survival rate. It is resistant to therapy in part due to its unique tumor microenvironment, characterized by a desmoplastic reaction resulting in a dense stroma that constitutes a large fraction of the tumor volume. A major contributor to the desmoplastic reaction are cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). CAFs actively interact with cancer cells and promote tumor progression by different mechanisms, including extracellular matrix deposition, remodeling, and secretion of tumor promoting factors, making CAFs an attractive target for PDA. However, emerging evidences indicate significant tumor-suppressive functions of CAFs, highlighting the complexity of CAF biology. CAFs were once considered as a uniform cell type within the cancer stroma. Recently, the existence of CAF heterogeneity in PDA has become appreciated. Due to advances in single cell technology, distinct subtypes of CAFs have been identified in PDA. Here we review recent updates in CAF biology in PDA, which may help develop effective CAF-targeted therapies in the future.
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Ahmad, Ramiz S., Timothy D. Eubank, Slawomir Lukomski, and Brian A. Boone. "Immune Cell Modulation of the Extracellular Matrix Contributes to the Pathogenesis of Pancreatic Cancer." Biomolecules 11, no. 6 (June 17, 2021): 901. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biom11060901.
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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly lethal malignancy with a five-year survival rate of only 9%. PDAC is characterized by a dense, fibrotic stroma composed of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. This desmoplastic stroma is a hallmark of PDAC, representing a significant physical barrier that is immunosuppressive and obstructs penetration of cytotoxic chemotherapy agents into the tumor microenvironment (TME). Additionally, dense ECM promotes hypoxia, making tumor cells refractive to radiation therapy and alters their metabolism, thereby supporting proliferation and survival. In this review, we outline the significant contribution of fibrosis to the pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer, with a focus on the cross talk between immune cells and pancreatic stellate cells that contribute to ECM deposition. We emphasize the cellular mechanisms by which neutrophils and macrophages, specifically, modulate the ECM in favor of PDAC-progression. Furthermore, we investigate how activated stellate cells and ECM influence immune cells and promote immunosuppression in PDAC. Finally, we summarize therapeutic strategies that target the stroma and hinder immune cell promotion of fibrogenesis, which have unfortunately led to mixed results. An enhanced understanding of the complex interactions between the pancreatic tumor ECM and immune cells may uncover novel treatment strategies that are desperately needed for this devastating disease.
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Hessmann, Elisabeth, Soeren M. Buchholz, Ihsan Ekin Demir, Shiv K. Singh, Thomas M. Gress, Volker Ellenrieder, and Albrecht Neesse. "Microenvironmental Determinants of Pancreatic Cancer." Physiological Reviews 100, no. 4 (October 1, 2020): 1707–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00042.2019.
Full textAbstract:
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) belongs to the most lethal solid tumors in humans. A histological hallmark feature of PDAC is the pronounced tumor microenvironment (TME) that dynamically evolves during tumor progression. The TME consists of different non-neoplastic cells such as cancer-associated fibroblasts, immune cells, endothelial cells, and neurons. Furthermore, abundant extracellular matrix components such as collagen and hyaluronic acid as well as matricellular proteins create a highly dynamic and hypovascular TME with multiple biochemical and physical interactions among the various cellular and acellular components that promote tumor progression and therapeutic resistance. In recent years, intensive research efforts have resulted in a significantly improved understanding of the biology and pathophysiology of the TME in PDAC, and novel stroma-targeted approaches are emerging that may help to improve the devastating prognosis of PDAC patients. However, none of anti-stromal therapies has been approved in patients so far, and there is still a large discrepancy between multiple successful preclinical results and subsequent failure in clinical trials. Furthermore, recent findings suggest that parts of the TME may also possess tumor-restraining properties rendering tailored therapies even more challenging.
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Xiao, Weikun, Chae-Young Eun, Xinyu Zhang, Charlene DeKalb, Mahsa Pahlavan, Bayan Mahgoub, Hanaa Knaneh, Alireza Sohrabi, Stephanie K. Seidlits, and Reginald Hill. "Abstract 1567: Increased extracellular matrix stiffness induces hypersecretion of chemoresistance-promoting cancer associated fibroblast-derived exosomes in pancreatic cancer." Cancer Research 82, no. 12_Supplement (June 15, 2022): 1567. http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.am2022-1567.
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Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal types of cancer with few effective treatments. Despite recent advances in in other cancers, the five-year survival rate of PDAC is still only 10%, with most patients succumbing to their disease within the first year. One of the main factors responsible for this poor outcome is the development of chemoresistance in nearly all clinical cases. While the intrinsic factors that facilitate chemoresistance in the tumor cells have been studied extensively, fewer studies have elucidated how the complex and unique microenvironment surrounding the tumor affects therapeutic responses. The abundant stromal cells and the stiff desmoplastic microenvironment constitute more than 90% of the primary tumor bulk. However, there is a lack of high-throughput, easily tunable models to recapitulate this complex microenvironment, in order to identify a critical cell-extrinsic factors that could drive acquired chemoresistance in PDAC cells. To address this issue, we have developed a Matrigel-based, orthogonally tunable 3-dimensional (3D) culture system to co-culture mouse derived PDAC organoids and host-matching cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). Using this system, we found that matrix-activated CAFs readily remodel the desmoplastic matrix through lysol-oxidase dependent crosslinking. Moreover, our novel system demonstrates how collagen-I and matrix stiffness affect chemoresistance via the hypersecretion CAF-derived exosomes. Interestingly, our data show that it is CAF-derived exosomes, not the organoid-derived exosomes, that are most important in regulation of proliferation and chemoresistance. Lastly, we identified key cell surface integrins for collagen-I as therapeutic targets to prevent desmoplastic matrix-mediated chemo-resistance in PDAC. Our study provides insights into how matrix composition and stiffness affect therapeutic outcome in PDAC. Moving forward, therapies aimed at interrupting how PDAC cells and stomal cells sense the matrix microenvironment could be utilized to eventually overcome matrix-mediated chemoresistance in PDAC. Citation Format: Weikun Xiao, Chae-Young Eun, Xinyu Zhang, Charlene DeKalb, Mahsa Pahlavan, Bayan Mahgoub, Hanaa Knaneh, Alireza Sohrabi, Stephanie K. Seidlits, Reginald Hill. Increased extracellular matrix stiffness induces hypersecretion of chemoresistance-promoting cancer associated fibroblast-derived exosomes in pancreatic cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 1567.
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Carvalho, Tiago M. A., Daria Di Molfetta, Maria Raffaella Greco, Tomas Koltai, Khalid O. Alfarouk, Stephan J. Reshkin, and Rosa A. Cardone. "Tumor Microenvironment Features and Chemoresistance in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Insights into Targeting Physicochemical Barriers and Metabolism as Therapeutic Approaches." Cancers 13, no. 23 (December 6, 2021): 6135. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers13236135.
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Currently, the median overall survival of PDAC patients rarely exceeds 1 year and has an overall 5-year survival rate of about 9%. These numbers are anticipated to worsen in the future due to the lack of understanding of the factors involved in its strong chemoresistance. Chemotherapy remains the only treatment option for most PDAC patients; however, the available therapeutic strategies are insufficient. The factors involved in chemoresistance include the development of a desmoplastic stroma which reprograms cellular metabolism, and both contribute to an impaired response to therapy. PDAC stroma is composed of immune cells, endothelial cells, and cancer-associated fibroblasts embedded in a prominent, dense extracellular matrix associated with areas of hypoxia and acidic extracellular pH. While multiple gene mutations are involved in PDAC initiation, this desmoplastic stroma plays an important role in driving progression, metastasis, and chemoresistance. Elucidating the mechanisms underlying PDAC resistance are a prerequisite for designing novel approaches to increase patient survival. In this review, we provide an overview of the stromal features and how they contribute to the chemoresistance in PDAC treatment. By highlighting new paradigms in the role of the stromal compartment in PDAC therapy, we hope to stimulate new concepts aimed at improving patient outcomes.
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Han, Xu, Michelle Burrows, Yanqing Jiang, Clementina Mesaros, David Schultz, Brian Keith, and Celeste Simon. "Abstract PR024: Investigating lipid homeostasis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma under tumor-like stress." Cancer Research 82, no. 22_Supplement (November 15, 2022): PR024. http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.panca22-pr024.
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Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive malignancy with a 5-year survival rate of only 10%. One hallmark of PDAC’s tumor microenvironment is dense desmoplasia, due to abnormal accumulation of extracellular matrix and proliferative fibroblasts. During tumorigenesis, pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) obtain myofibroblast-like signatures and contribute to the fibrotic environment of PDAC. Desmoplasia-induced hypovascularity severely limits oxygen and nutrient delivery. Our laboratory revealed that hypoxia is prominent even at the pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) stage, a dominant precursor lesion of PDAC. Hypoxia inhibits oxygen-dependent metabolic processes. For example, unsaturated lipid biosynthesis relies on oxygen to maintain desaturase enzymatic activities. Hypoxia also stimulates lipid uptake. Previous studies demonstrated that RAS-transformed cells preferentially import unsaturated lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs) from culture media. However, in a nutrient-limited fibrotic environment, the potential source of lipids is unclear. Interestingly, a lipidomic study of a PSC secretome displayed a significant amount of LPCs, suggesting that PSCs are the potential lipid source in the PDAC microenvironment. Our data indicate that exogenous unsaturated lipids sustain PDAC cell viability under hypoxia and nutrient deficiency. Moreover, we find PDAC cell survival under tumor-like stress is enhanced in PSC conditioned medium, but not in delipidated conditioned medium. Strikingly, we show that cancer-associated fibroblasts do not experience hypoxic stress as much as adjacent malignant epithelium cells in vivo, suggesting cancer-associated fibroblasts provide unsaturated (and other) lipids to PDAC cells. Based on our lipidomic mass spectra of PSC conditioned medium, we determined that LPCs are actively utilized by PDAC cells for phosphatidylcholine and triglyceride regeneration. To discover novel therapeutic strategies, we performed small molecule screens to identify potential drugs that disrupt LPC uptake and metabolism by PDAC cells. Our overall hypothesis is that activated PSCs (and potentially other fibroblasts) support PDAC cell survival by providing lipids, particularly LPCs, and inhibition of LPC utilization by cancer cells or unsaturated lipid synthesis by PSCs induces PDAC cell death under metabolically challenging conditions. In summary, this project aims to demonstrate metabolic crosstalk between fibroblasts and PDAC cells under stress conditions. The key advance of my research is that activated PSCs suppress PDAC cell death by supplying tumor cells with unsaturated LPCs for the maintenance of lipid homeostasis, in a hypoxic and nutrient-poor environment. If true, our findings will reveal novel metabolic targets for developing combinatorial therapy of PDAC. Citation Format: Xu Han, Michelle Burrows, Yanqing Jiang, Clementina Mesaros, David Schultz, Brian Keith, Celeste Simon. Investigating lipid homeostasis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma under tumor-like stress [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer; 2022 Sep 13-16; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(22 Suppl):Abstract nr PR024.
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Damiani, Verena, Maria Concetta Cufaro, Maurine Fucito, Beatrice Dufrusine, Claudia Rossi, Piero Del Boccio, Luca Federici, et al. "Proteomics Approach Highlights Early Changes in Human Fibroblasts-Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Cells Crosstalk." Cells 11, no. 7 (March 29, 2022): 1160. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cells11071160.
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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Non-specific symptoms, lack of biomarkers in the early stages, and drug resistance due to the presence of a dense fibrous stroma all contribute to the poor outcome of this disease. The extracellular matrix secreted by activated fibroblasts contributes to the desmoplastic tumor microenvironment formation. Given the importance of fibroblast activation in PDAC pathology, it is critical to recognize the mechanisms involved in the transformation of normal fibroblasts in the early stages of tumorigenesis. To this aim, we first identified the proteins released from the pancreatic cancer cell line MIA-PaCa2 by proteomic analysis of their conditioned medium (CM). Second, normal fibroblasts were treated with MIA-PaCa2 CM for 24 h and 48 h and their proteostatic changes were detected by proteomics. Pathway analysis indicated that treated fibroblasts undergo changes compatible with the activation of migration, vasculogenesis, cellular homeostasis and metabolism of amino acids and reduced apoptosis. These biological activities are possibly regulated by ITGB3 and TGFB1/2 followed by SMAD3, STAT3 and BAG3 activation. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the crosstalk between PDAC cells and associated fibroblasts. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD030974.
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Gao, Mei, Charles J. Bailey, Megan M. Harper, Michael J. Cavnar, Prakash Pandalai, Shadi A. Qasem, and Joseph Kim. "Abstract A029: Identification of tumor microenvironment components in patient-derived pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma organoids." Cancer Research 82, no. 10_Supplement (May 15, 2022): A029. http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.evodyn22-a029.
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Abstract Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is highly drug resistant with no change in therapeutic approach for the last decade. The PDAC tumor microenvironment (TME) is highly desmoplastic and associated with altered treatment response. Our group previously identified 9 distinct cell types in human PDAC tumors using single-cell RNA-sequencing, demonstrating a diverse TME. However, the TME of in vitro organoid PDAC models remains underexplored. We initiated characterization of the TME from PDAC patient derived organoids (PDOs) to establish a working model for accurate drug sensitivity testing. Methods: We performed immunofluorescence (IF) staining on whole-mount early passage (<P4) PDO lines and corresponding paraffin-embedded primary PDAC specimens to evaluate for activated cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) using antibodies against α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and fibroblast activated protein (FAP); and to evaluate for T-regulatory (Treg) cells with antibodies against interleukin-2 receptor α (IL-2Rα) and forkhead box protein P3 (FOXP3). Results: CAFs promote an immunosuppressive TME in PDAC and have recently been subclassified into inflammatory fibroblasts and myofibroblasts, which can both restrain and promote tumor progression. In this study, we identified three distinct subtypes of CAFs in PDOs, which are consistent with the subtypes found in matched clinical tumor specimens: α-SMA+, which has been reported to be indicative of pancreatic stellate cell activation and associated with increased desmoplasia; FAP+, which influences cancer cell motility, invasion, and cycle progression, extracellular matrix deposition, and angiogenesis within the TME; and α-SMA+/FAP+, which is a myofibroblast subtype. We additionally identified Treg populations in PDOs with peripheral IL-2Rα and central FOXP3 expression in the organoid spheres. Tregs have previously been shown to be overexpressed in the PDAC TME, making this finding clinically relevant. Conclusions: In this preliminary study, we show that PDAC PDOs demonstrate TME components that mirror primary tumor specimens, including CAFs and Tregs. The demonstration of a tumor-matched, immunocompetent TME in PDAC PDOs provides a more clinically relevant in vitro tumor model for patient-matched drug sensitivity testing. Citation Format: Mei Gao, Charles J. Bailey, Megan M. Harper, Michael J. Cavnar, Prakash Pandalai, Shadi A. Qasem, Joseph Kim. Identification of tumor microenvironment components in patient-derived pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma organoids [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on the Evolutionary Dynamics in Carcinogenesis and Response to Therapy; 2022 Mar 14-17. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A029.
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Procacci, Patrizia, Claudia Moscheni, Patrizia Sartori, Michele Sommariva, and Nicoletta Gagliano. "Tumor–Stroma Cross-Talk in Human Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Focus on the Effect of the Extracellular Matrix on Tumor Cell Phenotype and Invasive Potential." Cells 7, no. 10 (October 5, 2018): 158. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cells7100158.
Full textAbstract:
The extracellular matrix (ECM) in the tumor microenvironment modulates the cancer cell phenotype, especially in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), a tumor characterized by an intense desmoplastic reaction. Because the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process that provides cancer cells with a metastatic phenotype, plays an important role in PDAC progression, the authors aimed to explore in vitro the interactions between human PDAC cells and ECM components of the PDAC microenvironment, focusing on the expression of EMT markers and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) that are able to digest the basement membrane during tumor invasion. EMT markers and the invasive potential of HPAF-II, HPAC, and PL45 cells grown on different ECM substrates (fibronectin, laminin, and collagen) were analyzed. While N-cadherin, αSMA, and type I collagen were not significantly affected by ECM components, the E-cadherin/β-catenin complex was highly expressed in all the experimental conditions, and E-cadherin was upregulated by collagen in PL45 cells. Cell migration was unaffected by fibronectin and delayed by laminin. In contrast, collagen significantly stimulated cell migration and the secretion of MMPs. This study’s results showed that ECM components impacted cell migration and invasive potential differently. Collagen exerted a more evident effect, providing new insights into the understanding of the intricate interplay between ECM molecules and cancer cells, in order to find novel therapeutic targets for PDAC treatment.
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Modica, Chiara, Martina Olivero, Francesca Zuppini, Melissa Milan, Cristina Basilico, and Elisa Vigna. "HGF/MET Axis Induces Tumor Secretion of Tenascin-C and Promotes Stromal Rewiring in Pancreatic Cancer." Cancers 13, no. 14 (July 14, 2021): 3519. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers13143519.
Full textAbstract:
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is an aggressive tumor characterized by the presence of an abundant stromal compartment contributing significantly to the malignant phenotype. Pancreatic stellate cells are peculiar fibroblasts present in the stroma and represent the predominant source of extracellular matrix proteins, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and growth factors, including hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). Exploiting a co-culture system of human pancreatic stellate cells and cancer cells, we demonstrated that fibroblast activation was reduced upon HGF/MET axis inhibition. To unveil the signaling pathways sustaining stroma modulation orchestrated by MET activation in the tumor, we analyzed the gene expression profile in pancreatic cancer cells stimulated with HGF and treated with HGF/MET inhibitors. Transcriptome analysis showed that, among all the genes modulated by HGF, a subset of 125 genes was restored to the basal level following treatment with the inhibitors. By examining these genes via ingenuity pathway analysis, tenascin C emerged as a promising candidate linking MET signaling and tumor microenvironment. MET-dependent tenascin C modulation in pancreatic cancer cells was validated at RNA and protein levels both in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, this work identifies tenascin C as a gene modulated by MET activation, suggesting a role in MET-mediated tumor-stroma interplay occurring during pancreatic tumor progression.
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Pfeifer, Ester, Joy M. Burchell, Francesco Dazzi, Debashis Sarker, and Richard Beatson. "Apoptosis in the Pancreatic Cancer Tumor Microenvironment—The Double-Edged Sword of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts." Cells 10, no. 7 (July 1, 2021): 1653. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cells10071653.
Full textAbstract:
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is associated with poor prognosis. This is attributed to the disease already being advanced at presentation and having a particularly aggressive tumor biology. The PDAC tumor microenvironment (TME) is characterized by a dense desmoplastic stroma, dominated by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF), extracellular matrix (ECM) and immune cells displaying immunosuppressive phenotypes. Due to the advanced stage at diagnosis, the depletion of immune effector cells and lack of actionable genomic targets, the standard treatment is still apoptosis-inducing regimens such as chemotherapy. Paradoxically, it has emerged that the direct induction of apoptosis of cancer cells may fuel oncogenic processes in the TME, including education of CAF and immune cells towards pro-tumorigenic phenotypes. The direct effect of cytotoxic therapies on CAF may also enhance tumorigenesis. With the awareness that CAF are the predominant cell type in PDAC driving tumorigenesis with various tumor supportive functions, efforts have been made to try to target them. However, efforts to target CAF have, to date, shown disappointing results in clinical trials. With the help of sophisticated single cell analyses it is now appreciated that CAF in PDAC are a heterogenous population with both tumor supportive and tumor suppressive functions. Hence, there remains a debate whether targeting CAF in PDAC is a valid therapeutic strategy. In this review we discuss how cytotoxic therapies and the induction of apoptosis in PDAC fuels oncogenesis by the education of surrounding stromal cells, with a particular focus on the potential pro-tumorigenic outcomes arising from targeting CAF. In addition, we explore therapeutic avenues to potentially avoid the oncogenic effects of apoptosis in PDAC CAF.
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Han, Xu, Michelle Burrows, Celeste Simon, Yanqing Jiang, and Brian Keith. "Abstract PO-025: Investigating lipid homeostasis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma under tumor-like stress." Cancer Research 81, no. 22_Supplement (November 15, 2021): PO—025—PO—025. http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.panca21-po-025.
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Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive malignancy with a 5-year survival rate of only 10%. Nearly 95% of PDAC harbor oncogenic KRAS, which has been largely “undruggable” in the past. One hallmark of PDAC tumor microenvironment is dense desmoplasia, as a result of abnormal accumulation of extracellular matrix and proliferative fibroblasts. During tumorigenesis, pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) become activated to a myofibroblast-like phenotype and contribute to the fibrotic environment of PDAC. Desmoplasia-induced hypovascularity severely limits the delivery of oxygen and nutrients. Our laboratory revealed that hypoxia is prominent even at the pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) stage, which is the dominant precursor lesion of PDAC. Hypoxia inhibits oxygen-dependent processes in cancer metabolism, such as unsaturated lipid biosynthesis which requires oxygen as the terminal electron acceptor. Hypoxia also stimulates exogenous lipid uptake. Previous publications demonstrated that RAS-transformed cells preferentially take up unsaturated lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs) from culture media. However, under limited nutrient conditions, in the desmoplastic environment, the potential lipid source is not well understood. Interestingly, a lipidomic study of a PSC secretome displayed a significant elevation of LPCs, suggesting that PSCs are the potential lipid source in the PDAC microenvironment. Our data indicate that exogenous unsaturated fatty acids sustain PDAC cell viability under hypoxia and nutrient deficiency. We also find PDAC cell survival under tumor-like stress is enhanced in PSC conditioned medium, but not in delipidated conditioned medium. Strikingly, we show that cancer-associated fibroblasts are not experiencing hypoxic stress as much as malignant epithelium cells in vivo by analyzing single-cell RNA-seq data and IHC, which suggests the capability of cancer-associated fibroblasts in providing unsaturated lipids to PDAC cells. Based on our lipidomic mass spectra of PSC conditioned medium, we identify that LPCs are actively imported by PDAC cells and prove that unsaturated LPCs maintain PDAC cell survival under nutritional stress. Our overall hypothesis is that activated PSCs support PDAC cell survival by providing unsaturated lipids, particularly LPCs, and inhibition of unsaturated lipid uptake through impeding lipid transporter activity or LPC synthesis by PSCs could potentially induce PDAC cell death under metabolically challenging conditions. We will hinder possible pathways responsible for LPC uptake in PDAC cells and generate in vivo models to achieve therapeutic benefits of PDAC. In summary, our research aims to demonstrate the metabolic crosstalk between PSCs and PDAC cells under stress conditions. The key advance of this study is that activated PSCs suppress PDAC cell death by supplying tumor cells with unsaturated LPCs for maintaining lipid homeostasis, in a hypoxic and nutrient-poor environment. Our findings will reveal a novel metabolic target for developing combinatorial therapy of PDAC. Citation Format: Xu Han, Michelle Burrows, Celeste Simon, Yanqing Jiang, Brian Keith. Investigating lipid homeostasis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma under tumor-like stress [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer; 2021 Sep 29-30. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(22 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-025.
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Ganbold, Munkhzul, Pakavarin Louphrasitthiphol, Yoshihiro Miyazaki, Tatsuya Oda, Kenichi Tominaga, and Hiroko Isoda. "Abstract C068: Isorhamnetin restricts cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) phenotypic plasticity, poising them towards tumor-restraining myCAFs: Potential use of isorhamnetin as neoadjuvant in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)." Cancer Research 82, no. 22_Supplement (November 15, 2022): C068. http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.panca22-c068.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the deadliest cancer due lack of early diagnosis and inherent refractory to traditional chemo- and even novel immune-therapies. PDAC is marked by its extensive desmoplastic stroma containing extracellular matrix (ECM), vasculature and most importantly cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). CAFs that exist in heterogenous subtypes are responsible for shaping PDAC tumor microenvironment being the main source of: ECM deposition leading up to desmoplasia that hampers the efficacy of various therapeutics, as well as diverse cytokines and growth factors that promote the growth of cancer cells and the shift towards dedifferentiated and invasive phenotype and contribute towards immune suppressive microenvironment. Thus, modulating CAFs phenotype is an attractive mean to increase the efficacy of therapies targeting PDAC cells. Here we assessed the potential therapeutic benefits of Isorhamnetin, a flavonoid previously shown to exert anti-proliferative, anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory effect in various cancer types, to modulates PDAC microenvironment by characterizing Isorhamnetin effect on human PDAC-derived CAFs. Isorhamnetin inhibited CAFs proliferation, induced apoptosis, and cell cycle arrest by impairing mitochondrial health. Importantly, isorhamnetin attenuates the expression of inflammatory CAFs (iCAFs) signature including IL1A, IL6, LIF, CXCL1 and promotes phenotype shift towards myofibroblasts (myCAFs)-as evident in higher level of αSMA positive CAFs. Our results demonstrate antiproliferative effect of isorhamnetin on human PDAC-derived CAFs and a phenotype switch from iCAFs to myCAFs and warrant further investigation for its use in combinatorial therapy that target both the cancer and the tumor microenvironment as a whole. Citation Format: Munkhzul Ganbold, Pakavarin Louphrasitthiphol, Yoshihiro Miyazaki, Tatsuya Oda, Kenichi Tominaga, Hiroko Isoda. Isorhamnetin restricts cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) phenotypic plasticity, poising them towards tumor-restraining myCAFs: Potential use of isorhamnetin as neoadjuvant in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer; 2022 Sep 13-16; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(22 Suppl):Abstract nr C068.
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Buchholz, Soeren M., Robert G. Goetze, Shiv K. Singh, Christoph Ammer-Herrmenau, Frances M. Richards, Duncan I. Jodrell, Malte Buchholz, et al. "Depletion of Macrophages Improves Therapeutic Response to Gemcitabine in Murine Pancreas Cancer." Cancers 12, no. 7 (July 20, 2020): 1978. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers12071978.
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Background: The tumor microenvironment (TME) is composed of fibro-inflammatory cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) components. However, the exact contribution of the various TME compartments towards therapeutic response is unknown. Here, we aim to dissect the specific contribution of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) towards drug delivery and response in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Methods: The effect of gemcitabine was assessed in human and murine macrophages, human pancreatic stellate cells (hPSCs), and tumor cells (L3.6pl, BxPC3 and KPC) in vitro. The drug metabolism of gemcitabine was analyzed by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). Preclinical studies were conducted using KrasG12D;p48-Cre and KrasG12D;p53172H;Pdx-Cre mice to investigate gemcitabine delivery at different stages of tumor progression and upon pharmacological TAM depletion. Results: Gemcitabine accumulation was significantly increased in murine PDAC tissue compared to pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) lesions and healthy control pancreas tissue. In vitro, macrophages accumulated and rapidly metabolized gemcitabine resulting in a significant drug scavenging effect for gemcitabine. Finally, pharmacological TAM depletion enhanced therapeutic response to gemcitabine in tumor-bearing KPC mice. Conclusion: Macrophages rapidly metabolize gemcitabine in vitro, and pharmacological depletion improves the therapeutic response to gemcitabine in vivo. Our study supports the notion that TAMs might be a promising therapeutic target in PDAC.
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Ijichi, Hideaki. "Multiphasic Heterogeneity of Fibroblasts in the Microenvironment of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Dissection and the Sum of the Dynamics." Cancers 14, no. 19 (October 5, 2022): 4880. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers14194880.
Full textAbstract:
Pancreatic cancer is still the most intractable cancer, with a 5-year survival of around 10%. To conquer the most common type, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), we need to understand its pathobiology, especially the tumor microenvironment (TME) that characteristically contains abundant stromal components, with marked fibrosis. In this Special Issue, “Tumor Microenvironment and Pancreatic Cancer,” various aspects of TME were discussed, most frequently including articles related to cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and the extracellular matrix (ECM). CAFs and ECM have been considered in favor of PDAC cells; however, surprisingly, depleting CAFs or reducing the stromal components in PDAC-model mice induced aggressive PDAC and worsened the prognosis. Subsequently, accumulating studies have elucidated evidence of the heterogeneity of CAFs and the plasticity between the subtypes. Possible cancer-promoting and -restraining properties of the CAF subtypes have been suggested, but these are yet to be fully elucidated. Here, in addition to the extensive reviews on the heterogeneity of CAFs in this Special Issue, I refer to another insight from a recent integrative study of PDAC TME, that PDAC TME can be divided into three distinct sub-tumor microenvironments (subTMEs), and the co-existence of the distinct subTMEs is associated with poor prognosis. In the subTME, the heterogeneity of each component, including CAFs, can be changed transiently through various interactions in the TME, and the sum of the transient change and dynamic plasticity might be timely tuned in the co-existence of distinct subTMEs to contribute to the poor prognosis. Thus, understanding the more detailed underlying mechanisms in this heterogeneity of TME, as well as how to control the sum of multiphasic heterogeneity, might lead to the establishment of a more desirable therapeutic strategy to conquer intractable PDAC.
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Chen, Jiao, Daphne Weihs, and Fred J. Vermolen. "Computational modeling of therapy on pancreatic cancer in its early stages." Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology 19, no. 2 (September 9, 2019): 427–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10237-019-01219-0.
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Abstract More than eighty percent of pancreatic cancer involves ductal adenocarcinoma with an abundant desmoplastic extracellular matrix surrounding the solid tumor entity. This aberrant tumor microenvironment facilitates a strong resistance of pancreatic cancer to medication. Although various therapeutic strategies have been reported to be effective in mice with pancreatic cancer, they still need to be tested quantitatively in wider animal-based experiments before being applied as therapies. To aid the design of experiments, we develop a cell-based mathematical model to describe cancer progression under therapy with a specific application to pancreatic cancer. The displacement of cells is simulated by solving a large system of stochastic differential equations with the Euler–Maruyama method. We consider treatment with the PEGylated drug PEGPH20 that breaks down hyaluronan in desmoplastic stroma followed by administration of the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells. Modeling the effects of PEGPH20 + gemcitabine concentrations is based on Green’s fundamental solutions of the reaction–diffusion equation. Moreover, Monte Carlo simulations are performed to quantitatively investigate uncertainties in the input parameters as well as predictions for the likelihood of success of cancer therapy. Our simplified model is able to simulate cancer progression and evaluate treatments to inhibit the progression of cancer.
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Ferrara, Benedetta, Cataldo Pignatelli, Mélissande Cossutta, Antonio Citro, José Courty, and Lorenzo Piemonti. "The Extracellular Matrix in Pancreatic Cancer: Description of a Complex Network and Promising Therapeutic Options." Cancers 13, no. 17 (September 3, 2021): 4442. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers13174442.
Full textAbstract:
The stroma is a relevant player in driving and supporting the progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and a large body of evidence highlights its role in hindering the efficacy of current therapies. In fact, the dense extracellular matrix (ECM) characterizing this tumor acts as a natural physical barrier, impairing drug penetration. Consequently, all of the approaches combining stroma-targeting and anticancer therapy constitute an appealing option for improving drug penetration. Several strategies have been adopted in order to target the PDAC stroma, such as the depletion of ECM components and the targeting of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which are responsible for the increased matrix deposition in cancer. Additionally, the leaky and collapsing blood vessels characterizing the tumor might be normalized, thus restoring blood perfusion and allowing drug penetration. Even though many stroma-targeting strategies have reported disappointing results in clinical trials, the ECM offers a wide range of potential therapeutic targets that are now being investigated. The dense ECM might be bypassed by implementing nanoparticle-based systems or by using mesenchymal stem cells as drug carriers. The present review aims to provide an overview of the principal mechanisms involved in the ECM remodeling and of new promising therapeutic strategies for PDAC.
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Bansod, Sapana, Paarth B. Dodhiawala, and Kian-Huat Lim. "Oncogenic KRAS-Induced Feedback Inflammatory Signaling in Pancreatic Cancer: An Overview and New Therapeutic Opportunities." Cancers 13, no. 21 (October 31, 2021): 5481. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers13215481.
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Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains highly refractory to treatment. While the KRAS oncogene is present in almost all PDAC cases and accounts for many of the malignant feats of PDAC, targeting KRAS or its canonical, direct effector cascades remains unsuccessful in patients. The recalcitrant nature of PDAC is also heavily influenced by its highly fibro-inflammatory tumor microenvironment (TME), which comprises an acellular extracellular matrix and various types of non-neoplastic cells including fibroblasts, immune cells, and adipocytes, underscoring the critical need to delineate the bidirectional signaling interplay between PDAC cells and the TME in order to develop novel therapeutic strategies. The impact of tumor-cell KRAS signaling on various cell types in the TME has been well covered by several reviews. In this article, we critically reviewed evidence, including work from our group, on how the feedback inflammatory signals from the TME impact and synergize with oncogenic KRAS signaling in PDAC cells, ultimately augmenting their malignant behavior. We discussed past and ongoing clinical trials that target key inflammatory pathways in PDAC and highlight lessons to be learned from outcomes. Lastly, we provided our perspective on the future of developing therapeutic strategies for PDAC through understanding the breadth and complexity of KRAS and the inflammatory signaling network.
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Xiao, Zebin, Leslie A. Hopper, Meghan C. Kopp, Emily McMillan, Yue Li, Richard L. Barrett, and Ellen Puré. "Abstract C009: Disruption of tumor-promoting desmoplasia by adoptive transfer of fibroblast activation protein targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells enhances anti-tumor immunity and immunotherapy." Cancer Research 82, no. 22_Supplement (November 15, 2022): C009. http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.panca22-c009.
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Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly lethal disease due to the poor response to current therapeutic treatments. A major barrier to effective treatment of PDAC is the extensive remodeling of tumor stroma characterized by accumulation of cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and extracellular matrix which forms a physical barrier that limits access of the drugs to the cancer cells, suppresses the immune system, and attenuates efficacy of immunotherapies. Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is highly expressed in a pro-tumorigenic subset of CAFs in PDAC. We hypothesized that depletion of FAP+-CAFs would deplete extracellular matrix (ECM) and reduce the immune suppressive function of the stroma and thereby enhance the efficacy of tumor antigen targeted CAR T cell therapy in PDAC. Using real-time tumor fragment-based 2-photon microscopy, multiparametric flow cytometry and multiplexed immunofluorescence staining, we showed that FAP targeted CAR T cells (FAP-CAR T) efficiently traffic into tumors compared with tumor-antigen (mesothelin) targeted CAR (Meso-CAR) T cells which were trapped in the stroma-rich or matrix-dense areas and led to depletion of immunosuppressive FAP+ cells and reprogrammed the fibrillar collagen network surrounding tumor nests, advancing the infiltration of FAP-CAR T cells into tumor nests. Strikingly, FAP-CAR T cell-mediated depletion for FAP+ cells also rendered the tumor microenvironment permissive to the infiltration and anti-tumor activity of tumor antigen meso-CAR T cells. Moreover, ablation of FAP+ cells markedly enhanced endogenous T cell infiltration which further enhanced anti-tumor immunity and immunotherapy in PDAC models. Thus, our findings established that FAP-CAR T cell-mediated ablation of immunosuppressive FAP+-CAFs and disruption of the desmoplastic stroma they generate, can enhance accumulation and functionality of endogenous anti-tumor immunity and CAR-T cell therapy in the context of highly desmoplastic solid tumors. Citation Format: Zebin Xiao, Leslie A. Hopper, Meghan C. Kopp, Emily McMillan, Yue Li, Richard L Barrett, Ellen Puré. Disruption of tumor-promoting desmoplasia by adoptive transfer of fibroblast activation protein targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells enhances anti-tumor immunity and immunotherapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer; 2022 Sep 13-16; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(22 Suppl):Abstract nr C009.
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Schwoerer, Simon, Manon Ros, Kaloyan Tsanov, Francesco Cimino, Scott Lowe, Carlos Carmona-Fontaine, and Craig Thompson. "Abstract PR018: Hypoxia synergizes with IL1 to promote an inflammatory fibroblast state in the pancreatic tumor microenvironment." Cancer Research 82, no. 22_Supplement (November 15, 2022): PR018. http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.panca22-pr018.
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Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by a prominent desmoplastic response created by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) that can acquire both tumor-promoting and -restraining functions. Recently, transcriptionally distinct subpopulations of CAFs have been identified in PDAC including tumor-restraining myofibroblastic CAFs (myCAFs) producing extracellular matrix and tumor-promoting inflammatory CAFs (iCAFs) secreting cytokines. While CAF heterogeneity can be driven in part by growth factor and cytokine gradients, other factors involved in shaping the CAF state in PDAC are largely unknown. Identifying and targeting such factors may help to drive CAFs from tumor-promoting into tumor-suppressive states. Hypoxia is a major environmental factor in the PDAC tumor microenvironment but its role in CAF plasticity is unknown. In this study, we use KPC organoid orthotopic transplantation and co-culture models to investigate the role of hypoxia in regulating the CAF state and functions. We find that iCAFs display a hypoxic gene expression and biochemical profile in vivo and are enriched in hypoxic regions of PDAC tumors. Hypoxia leads to acquisition of an inflammatory gene expression signature in fibroblasts and synergizes with cancer cell-derived IL1 to promote an iCAF phenotype in a HIF-1α dependent fashion. Furthermore, we show in PDAC organoid co-culture models that HIF-1α stabilization is sufficient to induce an iCAF phenotype in pancreatic stellate cells and to promote PDAC tumor growth in vivo in the absence of hypoxia. These data indicate Citation Format: Simon Schwoerer, Manon Ros, Kaloyan Tsanov, Francesco Cimino, Scott Lowe, Carlos Carmona-Fontaine, Craig Thompson. Hypoxia synergizes with IL1 to promote an inflammatory fibroblast state in the pancreatic tumor microenvironment [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer; 2022 Sep 13-16; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(22 Suppl):Abstract nr PR018.
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Doctor, Alina, Verena Seifert, Martin Ullrich, Sandra Hauser, and Jens Pietzsch. "Three-Dimensional Cell Culture Systems in Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research." Cancers 12, no. 10 (September 25, 2020): 2765. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers12102765.
Full textAbstract:
In preclinical cancer research, three-dimensional (3D) cell culture systems such as multicellular spheroids and organoids are becoming increasingly important. They provide valuable information before studies on animal models begin and, in some cases, are even suitable for reducing or replacing animal experiments. Furthermore, they recapitulate microtumors, metastases, and the tumor microenvironment much better than monolayer culture systems could. Three-dimensional models show higher structural complexity and diverse cell interactions while reflecting (patho)physiological phenomena such as oxygen and nutrient gradients in the course of their growth or development. These interactions and properties are of great importance for understanding the pathophysiological importance of stromal cells and the extracellular matrix for tumor progression, treatment response, or resistance mechanisms of solid tumors. Special emphasis is placed on co-cultivation with tumor-associated cells, which further increases the predictive value of 3D models, e.g., for drug development. The aim of this overview is to shed light on selected 3D models and their advantages and disadvantages, especially from the radiopharmacist’s point of view with focus on the suitability of 3D models for the radiopharmacological characterization of novel radiotracers and radiotherapeutics. Special attention is paid to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) as a predestined target for the development of new radionuclide-based theranostics.
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Luan, Hong, Chuang Zhang, Tuo Zhang, Ye He, Yanna Su, and Liping Zhou. "Identification of Key Prognostic Biomarker and Its Correlation with Immune Infiltrates in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma." Disease Markers 2020 (August 31, 2020): 1–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8825997.
Full textAbstract:
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an extremely malignant tumor. The immune profile of PDAC and the immunologic milieu of its tumor microenvironment (TME) are unique; however, the mechanism of how the TME engineers the carcinogenesis of PDAC is not fully understood. This study is aimed at better understanding the relationship between the immune infiltration of the TME and gene expression and identifying potential prognostic and immunotherapeutic biomarkers for PDAC. Analysis of data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 159 upregulated and 53 downregulated genes. Gene Ontology analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment were performed and showed that the DEGs were mainly enriched for the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and extracellular matrix organization. We used the cytoHubba plugin of Cytoscape to screen out the most significant ten hub genes by four different models (Degree, MCC, DMNC, and MNC). The expression and clinical relevance of these ten hub genes were validated using Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) and the Human Protein Atlas, respectively. High expression of nine of the hub genes was positively correlated with poor prognosis. Finally, the relationship between these hub genes and tumor immunity was analyzed using the Tumor Immune Estimation Resource. We found that the expression of SPARC, COL6A3, and FBN1 correlated positively with infiltration levels of six immune cells in the tumors. In addition, these three genes had a strong coexpression relationship with the immune checkpoints. In conclusion, our results suggest that nine upregulated biomarkers are related to poor prognosis in PDAC and may serve as potential prognostic biomarkers for PDAC therapy. Furthermore, SPARC, COL6A3, and FBN1 play an important role in tumor-related immune infiltration and may be ideal targets for immune therapy against PDAC.
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Betriu, Nausika, Anna Andreeva, Anna Alonso, and Carlos E. Semino. "Increased Stiffness Downregulates Focal Adhesion Kinase Expression in Pancreatic Cancer Cells Cultured in 3D Self-Assembling Peptide Scaffolds." Biomedicines 10, no. 8 (July 29, 2022): 1835. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10081835.
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The focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase that participates in integrin-mediated signal transduction and contributes to different biological processes, such as cell migration, survival, proliferation and angiogenesis. Moreover, FAK can be activated by autophosphorylation at position Y397 and trigger different signaling pathways in response to increased extracellular matrix stiffness. In addition, FAK is overexpressed and/or hyperactivated in many epithelial cancers, and its expression correlates with tumor malignancy and invasion potential. One of the characteristics of solid tumors is an over deposition of ECM components, which generates a stiff microenvironment that promotes, among other features, sustained cell proliferation and survival. Researchers are, therefore, increasingly developing cell culture models to mimic the increased stiffness associated with these kinds of tumors. In the present work, we have developed a new 3D in vitro model to study the effect of matrix stiffness in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells as this kind of tumor is characterized by a desmoplastic stroma and an increased stiffness compared to its normal counterpart. For that, we have used a synthetic self-assembling peptide nanofiber matrix, RAD16-I, which does not suffer a significant degradation in vitro, thus allowing to maintain the same local stiffness along culture time. We show that increased matrix stiffness in synthetic 3D RAD16-I gels, but not in collagen type I scaffolds, promotes FAK downregulation at a protein level in all the cell lines analyzed. Moreover, even though it has classically been described that stiff 3D matrices promote an increase in pFAKY397/FAK proteins, we found that this ratio in soft and stiff RAD16-I gels is cell-type-dependent. This study highlights how cell response to increased matrix stiffness greatly depends on the nature of the matrix used for 3D culture.
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Mucciolo, Gianluca, Claudia Curcio, Cecilia Roux, Wanda Y. Li, Michela Capello, Roberta Curto, Roberto Chiarle, et al. "IL17A critically shapes the transcriptional program of fibroblasts in pancreatic cancer and switches on their protumorigenic functions." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, no. 6 (February 1, 2021): e2020395118. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2020395118.
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A hallmark of cancer, including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA), is a massive stromal and inflammatory reaction. Many efforts have been made to identify the anti- or protumoral role of cytokines and immune subpopulations within the stroma. Here, we investigated the role of interleukin-17A (IL17A) and its effect on tumor fibroblasts and the tumor microenvironment. We used a spontaneous PDA mouse model (KPC) crossed to IL17A knockout mice to show an extensive desmoplastic reaction, without impaired immune infiltration. Macrophages, especially CD80+ and T cells, were more abundant at the earlier time point. In T cells, a decrease in FoxP3+ cells and an increase in CD8+ T cells were observed in KPC/IL17A−/− mice. Fibroblasts isolated from IL17A+/+ and IL17A−/− KPC mice revealed very different messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein profiles. IL17A−/− fibroblasts displayed the ability to restrain tumor cell invasion by producing factors involved in extracellular matrix remodeling, increasing T cell recruitment, and producing higher levels of cytokines and chemokines favoring T helper 1 cell recruitment and activation and lower levels of those recruiting myeloid/granulocytic immune cells. Single-cell quantitative PCR on isolated fibroblasts confirmed a very divergent profile of IL17A-proficient and -deficient cells. All these features can be ascribed to increased levels of IL17F observed in the sera of IL17A−/− mice, and to the higher expression of its cognate receptor (IL17RC) specifically in IL17A−/− cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). In addition to the known effects on neoplastic cell transformation, the IL17 cytokine family uniquely affects fibroblasts, representing a suitable candidate target for combinatorial immune-based therapies in PDA.
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Ostapoff, Katherine, Niranjan Awasthi, Roderich Schwarz, and Rolf A. Brekken. "Use of PG545, a heparanase inhibitor, to inhibit pancreatic cancer tumor cell proliferation and migration in vitro and in vivo." Journal of Clinical Oncology 30, no. 4_suppl (February 1, 2012): 234. http://dx.doi.org/10.1200/jco.2012.30.4_suppl.234.
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234 Background: Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is highly resistant to conventional chemotherapy, as result there is an ongoing search to find novel effective strategies. Resistance is due in part to the high proportion of stromal tissue within the primary tumor. This intricate ECM (extracellular matrix) includes heparan-sulfate glycosaminoglycans which participate in tumor progression, angiogenesis and metastasis. PG545 is a heparanase inhibitor developed to target these pathways. Methods: In vitro cell viability assays were performed using WST-1 reagent and migration was evaluated using T- scratch assay. Animal survival experiments were performed by intraperitoneal injection of AsPC-1 (0.75 x 10^6) cells. In vivo tumor growth experiments were performed by orthotopic injection of PanO2-HY (5x10^5) cells. Results: PG545 significantly inhibited proliferation of tumor cells (AsPC-1 and PanO2) and fibroblasts (WI-38). PG545 caused only a modest inhibition in endothelial cell (HUVECs) proliferation. Migration was significantly inhibited by 1 µM PG545 in AsPC-1 and PanO2 after 12 hours. In a metastatic model of pancreatic cancer, treatment with PG545 (10 mg/kg 1st week, 5 mg/kg 2nd week) improved survival (35 days) compared to saline (22 days) and gemcitabine (28 days). In an immunocompetent orthotopic model, mice treated with PG545 (5 mg/kg twice weekly) had significantly decreased tumor weights after 3 weeks of therapy (p=0.002). Total metastatic events were also reduced in PG545 compared to gemcitabine and control treatment in the PanO2 model. Conclusions: PG545 inhibits tumor cell proliferation and migration in vitro and prolongs survival and inhibits tumor growth in vivo. Additionally it inhibits metastasis in vivo. Further studies are underway to elucidate the mechanism of inhibition and changes to pancreatic tumor microenvironment.
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Xu, Pauline, Mikyoung You, Yi Luan, Maya Eldani, Soonkyu Chung, and So-Youn Kim. "Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Highly Expresses Activin A: Implications in Adipose Tissue and Cancer Cachexia." Journal of the Endocrine Society 5, Supplement_1 (May 1, 2021): A53—A54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1210/jendso/bvab048.107.
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Abstract Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is currently the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States and is projected to become the second leading cause by the year 2030. Prognosis for patients with metastatic disease remains dismal. Cancer cachexia is seen in over 85% of PDAC patients who often have the most severe degrees of cachexia and experience adipose tissue loss prior to skeletal muscle loss early in the disease process. Several factors have been proposed to induce cachectic symptoms in human patients, including inhibin subunit βA, or activin A. Hypothesis: While muscle wasting has been the most frequently studied mechanism in cachexia research, changes in adipose tissue are increasingly understood as important components of body weight loss in cachectic patients. We hypothesized that there is a correlation between the marked increase in activin A production in PDAC patients and the remodeling of adipose tissue and consequent cancer-associated cachectic state. Experimental Design: We measured serum activin A levels of a cohort of PDAC patients and analyzed the expression of activin A in tumor-derived cell lines and biopsies of both humans and mice. We further investigated the effect of activin A on remodeling of adipose tissue secondary to tumor progression in PDAC patients and an orthotopic murine model. Results: We observed that PDAC cell lines express and secrete activin A. We recognized a loss of adipose tissue mass and adipocyte diameter in PDAC patients and our orthotopic PDAC mouse model in relation to increased circulating activin A. We also noted that both exogenous activin A and conditioned medium from pancreatic tumor-derived cell lines dampened adipocyte differentiation and lipid droplet formation via reduction of PPARγ expression in mouse mesenchymal stem cells. These treatment conditions also reduced lipid droplet size without upregulating traditional markers of adipose tissue browning and lipolysis such as UCP-1 and ATGL in mature mouse adipocytes. PPARγ, UCP-1, and ATGL expression are also heavily downregulated in adipose tissue of PDAC patients. Furthermore, our studies revealed that the expression of extracellular matrix proteins such as collagen I and fibronectin is dramatically upregulated in adipose tissue of PDAC patients and our orthotopic PDAC mouse model. Thus, we found that there is a clear correlation between elevated levels of activin A and the progression of cancer-associated cachexia in PDAC. Discussion: Our results reveal an imperative role of activin A in relation to the loss and remodeling of adipose tissue in the progression of cachexia in PDAC patients.
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Furuhashi, Satoru, Takanori Sakaguchi, Ryuta Muraki, Ryo Kitajima, Mayu Fukushima, Makoto Takeda, Yoshifumi Morita, Hirotoshi Kikuchi, Mitsutoshi Setou, and HIROYA TAKEUCHI. "The potential of Tenascin C in the tumor-nerve microenvironment to enhance perineural invasion and correlate with locoregional recurrence-related poor prognosis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma." Journal of Clinical Oncology 38, no. 4_suppl (February 1, 2020): 748. http://dx.doi.org/10.1200/jco.2020.38.4_suppl.748.
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748 Background: Perineural invasion (PNI) is commonly seen in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and worsens the postoperative prognosis. However, the detail mechanisms of PNI in PDAC remain unclear. Tenascin C (TNC), an extracellular matrix glycoprotein, is abundant in cancer stroma and modulates tumor progression. In this study, we hypothesized that TNC could enhance PNI in PDAC. The aim of this study was to investigate the roles of TNC in the tumor-nerve microenvironment of PDAC. Methods: We immunohistochemically examined TNC expression in 78 resected PDAC specimens. TNC staining intensity in perineural sites at the invasive front was classified as low or high, by comparison with adjacent non-cancerous tissues in the same section. The relationships between TNC expression and clinicopathological features were retrospectively analyzed. Furthermore, interactions between cancer cells and nerves after supplementation with TNC were investigated using in vitro co-culture model with a PDAC cell line and neonatal mouse dorsal root ganglion (DRG). Results: High perineural TNC expression at the invasive front, seen in 30 (38%) patients, was associated with the presence of PNI (p = 0.006), pathological T stage ≥ 3 (p = 0.01), and postoperative locoregional recurrence (p = 0.002). It was independently associated with postoperative, poor recurrence-free survival in multivariate analysis (p = 0.045). In the in vitro co-culture model, TNC supplementation significantly enhanced both neurotropism of PDAC cells and tumor tropism of a DRG. On the other hand, when PDAC cells and a DRG were cultured separately, TNC did not affect cancer cell proliferation or neural outgrowth. Furthermore, the knockdown of Annexin A2, which is known to be a receptor for TNC, cancelled the neurotropism of PDAC cell toward DRGs. Conclusions: Strong perineural TNC expression was a prognostic indicator of locoregional recurrence-related poor prognosis. The neurotropism of PDAC induced by TNC and TNC-Annexin A2 signaling pathway could be the potential therapeutic target for PDAC by regulating PNI.
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Quong, Andrew, Mark Rees, Kirsteen Maclean, Mael Manesse, Jordan Nieto, Amanda Esch, Devan Fleury, Keith Wharton, and Gourab Chatterjee. "53 Unique insights into PDAC development revealed by both InSituPlex® and imaging mass cytometry." Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 9, Suppl 2 (November 2021): A60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jitc-2021-sitc2021.053.
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BackgroundPancreatic cancer remains a deadly disease due to difficulties hindering its early diagnosis, giving way to metastasis of the tumor and resulting in poor prognosis. While there are many neoplasms of the pancreas, pancreatic invasive ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common and treatment options are few, with poor overall survival. Aggressive surgeries such as the Whipple procedure coupled to systemic chemotherapy is one of the few treatment options. Recently, several publications have demonstrated improved outcomes with the inclusion of immunotherapy to cytotoxic drug combinations in some patients, however optimally selecting patients as candidates for immunotherapy-chemotherapy combinations remains a critical challenge. The complexities of the tumor microenvironment have been implicated in the failure of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy. The tumor microenvironment of PDAC is especially rich with multiple interactions between pancreatic epithelial/cancer cells, stromal cells, immune cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM). PDACs are characterized by a complex ECM of desmoplastic reaction consisting of an extensive and dense fibrotic stroma that surrounds and infiltrates clusters of malignant epithelial cells, together with the loss of basement membrane integrity and an abnormal vasculature.MethodsIn the present study we demonstrate a tissue phenotyping workflow combining three complementary methods that can unravel novel insights in the complex tumor microenvironment. This novel translational workflow delivers tissue morphology information, spatial phenotyping of immune cell population on whole slides, and high dimensional imaging in selected regions of interest (ROI), by combining H&E, multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF), and Imaging Mass Cytometry (IMC™).ResultsThe use of the InSituPlex® UltiMapper® I/O PD-L1 kit enabled the streamlined combination and alignment of H&E and mIF data, leading to the strategic selection of relevant ROIs, while utility of IMC technology enabled downstream imaging of 35 protein markers associated with the ECM in the selected ROIs to provide a deeper understanding of the tumor microenvironment.ConclusionsThe incorporation of advanced multiplex imaging platforms such as mIF and IMC with routine H&E workflow in tumor biology can deliver some of the much-needed insight into tumor morphology, cellular composition, cellular functions, and cell-cell interactions and paves the way for potentially improved clinical prognosis and efficacy prediction in patients with cancer.
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Hossain, Elora, and Fumihiro Higashino. "Abstract PO-017: Application of oncolytic adenovirus to desmoplastic pancreatic cancer." Cancer Research 81, no. 22_Supplement (November 15, 2021): PO—017—PO—017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.panca21-po-017.
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Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the highly malignant tumors with the poorest prognosis worldwide. The five-year survival rate of pancreatic cancer patients is 5%. PDAC comprises a dense fibrotic stroma with an extracellular matrix produced by activated-human pancreatic stellate cells (HPSC), which helps tumor growth, infiltration and metastasis. It is the main reason for chemotherapy resistance since fibrotic stroma is impenetrable for drug delivery. AU-rich elements (ARE) are RNA elements commonly present in the 3’-UTR of certain mRNAs that encode many early response genes or growth-related genes such as proto-oncogenes. ARE enhances the rapid decay of mRNAs, and the fate of ARE-mRNA is controlled by ARE-binding proteins HuR. ARE-mRNA is stabilized in most types of cancers mediate by binding with HuR, which exports target ARE-mRNA to the cytoplasm. We have developed E4orf6-deficient adenovirus dl355 as an oncolytic virus. E4orf6 is a viral gene essential for viral replication and contributes to viral replication by stabilizing ARE-mRNA in infected cells. Therefore, dl355 can replicate only in cancer cells in which ARE-mRNA is stabilized and lyses the cells. If ARE-mRNA is stabilized not only in PDAC but also in the activated-HPSC, dl355 may be effective for surrounding fibrosis. We found that HuR was relocalized in the cytoplasm of human PDAC and HPSC activated by TGFβ-1. The co-culture enhanced HuR export of MIA PaCa-2 with activated-HPSC. Inhibition of HuR function using CMLD-2 reagent inactivated the growth, invasion and metastasis activities of PDAC. The proliferative and cytopathic effects of dl355 were very high with PDAC and even with activated-HPSC compared to quiescent cells. These results indicate that oncolytic adenovirus dl355 shows potentiality to kill both pancreatic cancer cells and activated-pancreatic stellate cells where an abundance of HuR in the cytoplasm. dl355 has the potential to overcome several critical hurdles proposed by the tumor microenvironment of desmoplastic pancreatic tumors. Citation Format: Elora Hossain, Fumihiro Higashino. Application of oncolytic adenovirus to desmoplastic pancreatic cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer; 2021 Sep 29-30. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(22 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-017.
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Quong, Andrew, Jordan Nieto, Derek Quong, Amanda Esch, Kirsteen Maclean, Mark Rees, Devan Fleury, et al. "Abstract 1709: Improved understanding of the biology and pathophysiology of the tumor microenvironment in PDAC samples revealed by InSituPlex, Imaging Mass Cytometry, and advanced image processing." Cancer Research 82, no. 12_Supplement (June 15, 2022): 1709. http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.am2022-1709.
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Abstract Pancreatic cancer remains a deadly disease due to difficulties hindering its early diagnosis, giving way to metastasis of the tumor and resulting in poor prognosis. While there are many neoplasms of the pancreas, pancreatic invasive ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common, and treatment options are few, with poor overall survival. Recently, several publications have demonstrated improved outcomes with the inclusion of immunotherapy to cytotoxic drug combinations in some patients. However, optimally selecting patients as candidates for immunotherapy-chemotherapy combinations remains a critical challenge. The complexities of the tumor microenvironment (TME) have been implicated in the failure of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy. The tumor microenvironment of PDAC is especially rich with multiple interactions between pancreatic epithelial/cancer cells, stromal cells, immune cells, and the extracellular matrix (ECM). PDACs are characterized by a complex ECM of desmoplastic reaction consisting of an extensive and dense fibrotic stroma that surrounds and infiltrates clusters of malignant epithelial cells, together with the loss of basement membrane integrity and an abnormal vasculature. PD-L1 is also expressed in PDACs, and its overexpression has been associated with a poor prognosis. In the present study we demonstrate a unique tissue phenotyping workflow combining complementary methods that can unravel the complexity of the tumor microenvironment. We highlight how a workflow combining multiple elements provides utility, robustness, and an ability to derive biological insights in PDAC samples. An InSituPlex® PD-L1 multiplex immunofluorescence assay (4 markers, CD8, CD68, PD-L1, Pan CK/Sox10) was used on whole slides to identify areas of high, medium, and low PD-L1 expression. Imaging Mass Cytometry™ (IMC™, 40 markers) was performed on selected regions of interest from each slide. Advanced tissue and cell segmentation followed by multiplex cellular phenotyping and spatial analyses were performed on both whole-slide InSituPlex and IMC data. These methods combine to give a detailed readout of the location and bio-distribution of specific cell phenotypes in situ in the TME of PDAC. Four-plex imaging and analysis of whole slides gives an overview of the immune status of the section, while 40-plex imaging and analysis gives a comprehensive and multiparametric exploration of cells present. These methods combine to reveal an exceptional view of the PDAC TME at the single-cell level. Citation Format: Andrew Quong, Jordan Nieto, Derek Quong, Amanda Esch, Kirsteen Maclean, Mark Rees, Devan Fleury, Gourab Chatterjee, Keith Wharton, Jeppe Thagaard, Fabian Schneider, Dan Winkowski, James Mansfield. Improved understanding of the biology and pathophysiology of the tumor microenvironment in PDAC samples revealed by InSituPlex, Imaging Mass Cytometry, and advanced image processing [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 1709.
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Foote, Jeremy. "Abstract 1342: Evaluating the role of antibody in pancreatic tumorigenesis." Cancer Research 82, no. 12_Supplement (June 15, 2022): 1342. http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.am2022-1342.
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Abstract Introduction: Infiltrating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most fatal human malignancies, with an overall 5-year survival rate of 10%. The PDAC tumor microenvironment (TME) is characterized by a fibroinflammatory response mediated by a complex mix of cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) subsets resulting significant deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM), poor vascularization, T cell exclusion, and recruitment of immune-suppressive myeloid cells. Collectively, these factors contribute to a resistance to aggressive chemotherapeutics and failure of checkpoint inhibitors. Preclinical studies as well as clinical efforts designed to deplete the dense tumor stroma or ECM have been successful, but unexpectedly accelerated tumor progression underscoring critical gaps in our understanding of the dynamics between tumor, stromal elements, and infiltrating immune cell subsets. Rationale: In some cancer subtypes, B cells have been shown to suppress cancer progression through secretion of antibodies targeted to aberrantly expressed self-, stress-associated-, or tumor-specific antigens on neoplastic cells. A considerable body of literature also indicates that B cells may play a role in promotion of pancreatic tumor progression, however, the role of antibodies in PDAC progression is unclear. The major objective of our studies is to understand the significance of anti-tumor antibody responses in pancreatic tumorigenesis. Methods: To address this question, we crossed the spontaneous mouse model of pancreatic cancer where Pdx1 drives Cre-mediated activation of a mutant KrasG12D allele on a heterozygous Tp53+/FL mutant background (KPC-WT mice) with animals that retain B cells that lack the ability to secrete antibody of any immunoglobulin (Ig) isotype (KPC-μS-AID mice). Results: Kaplan-Meier survival studies demonstrate that loss of all circulating antibody accelerates progression to lethal PDAC in KPC-μS-AID versus KPC-WT mice (median survival of 3- versus 5-months, respectively), with increased incidence of lung and liver metastases. Further, loss of circulating antibodies increased the density of intratumoral neutrophils, reduced numbers of podoplanin+ CAFs and reduced ECM density. IgG subclass antibodies were localized at higher densities within stroma/ECM in pancreata from both mice and surgically resected tumor specimens from human PDAC patients. Loss of AID-dependent class switched antibodies similarly accelerated lethal PDAC in KPC-AID versus KPC-WT mice. Conclusions: These findings implicate class-switched antibodies in delaying pancreatic tumor progression through potential regulation of intratumoral neutrophil density and ECM production within the PDAC TME. Citation Format: Jeremy Foote. Evaluating the role of antibody in pancreatic tumorigenesis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 1342.
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Cannone, Stefania, Maria Raffaella Greco, Tiago M. A. Carvalho, Helene Guizouarn, Olivier Soriani, Daria Di Molfetta, Richard Tomasini, Katrine Zeeberg, Stephan Joel Reshkin, and Rosa Angela Cardone. "Cancer Associated Fibroblast (CAF) Regulation of PDAC Parenchymal (CPC) and CSC Phenotypes Is Modulated by ECM Composition." Cancers 14, no. 15 (July 31, 2022): 3737. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers14153737.
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Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the deadliest of all cancers, having one of the lowest five-year survival rates. One of its hallmarks is a dense desmoplastic stroma consisting in the abnormal accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) components, especially Collagen I. This highly fibrotic stroma embeds the bulk cancer (parenchymal) cells (CPCs), cancer stem cells (CSCs) and the main producers of the stromal reaction, the Cancer Associated Fibroblasts (CAFs). Little is known about the role of the acellular ECM in the interplay of the CAFs with the different tumor cell types in determining their phenotypic plasticity and eventual cell fate. Methods: Here, we analyzed the role of ECM collagen I in modulating the effect of CAF-derived signals by incubating PDAC CPCs and CSCs grown on ECM mimicking early (low collagen I levels) and late (high collagen I levels) stage PDAC stroma with conditioned medium from primary cultured CAFs derived from patients with PDAC in a previously described three-dimensional (3D) organotypic model of PDAC. Results: We found that CAFs (1) reduced CPC growth while favoring CSC growth independently of the ECM; (2) increased the invasive capacity of only CPCs on the ECM mimicking the early tumor; and (3) favored vasculogenic mimicry (VM) especially of the CSCs on the ECM mimicking an early tumor. Conclusions: We conclude that the CAFs and acellular stromal components interact to modulate the tumor behaviors of the PDAC CPC and CSC cell types and drive metastatic progression by stimulating the phenotypic characteristics of each tumor cell type that contribute to metastasis.
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Pu, Jie, Carrie Aldrich, Junming Zhu, Ping Jiang, Xionghua W. Wu, Thomas Müller, Paco Delgado, Michelle Quiroz, and Sihem Khelifa. "Hyaluronan assessment in tumor microenvironment using new affinity histochemistry assay and scoring method." Journal of Clinical Oncology 35, no. 15_suppl (May 20, 2017): e23196-e23196. http://dx.doi.org/10.1200/jco.2017.35.15_suppl.e23196.
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e23196 Background: Enzymatic degradation of hyaluronan (HA) by PEGylated recombinant human hyaluronidase PH20 (PEGPH20) induces a remodeling of the tumor microenvironment that impacts tumor behavior and response to therapy. Ventana Medical Systems, Inc., (VMSI) and Halozyme Therapeutics co-developed the VENTANA HA RxDx Assay and a scoring method to evaluate HA in solid tumors to potentially predict which patients might better respond to the addition of PEGPH20 to cancer treatments. Methods: Using Halozyme’s novel recombinant HA binding probe altered to include a rabbit Fc region, VMSI developed a highly specific and sensitive affinity histochemistry assay that binds to HA in tissues. Histological features and staining patterns of 106 samples from Halozyme’s 109-202 Phase 2 study of PEGPH20 combined with nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine (AG) vs. AG alone in patients with previously untreated stage IV pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) with clinical outcome data were analyzed to develop a scoring method evaluating HA accumulation. Results: A novel scoring algorithm focused solely on the extracellular matrix (ECM) was developed. An ECM HA staining ≥ 50% of the entire tumor surface at any intensity defines an HA-High PDA. We recommend that a 0.05 cm x 0.2 cm uninterrupted fragment of tumor cells and associated stroma obtained using needle gauges of 16 to 20 G as the minimally required amount of tissue to assess HA in PDA. Based on verification studies performed by VMSI, including an inter-reader precision study with a 94% agreement rate, VMSI scoring method proved to be trainable, reproducible, and transferable to pathologists, supporting an IDE approval for selecting patients in the Phase 3 HALO 109-301 study. Conclusions: Performance of the VENTANA HA RxDx Assay, a robust affinity histochemical assay, has been successfully verified in PDA. Two Halozyme clinical studies in PDA (Phase 2 HALO 109-202 Stage 2 & ongoing Phase 3 HALO 109-301) are expected to validate the VMSI HA scoring method in selecting patients who might better respond to the addition of PEGPH20 to cancer treatments. Current Phase 1/2 studies are exploring the utility of the VENTANA HA RxDx Assay and the pantumor potential of PEGPH20.
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Saida, Yu, Tomohiro Seki, Shun Kishimoto, Jeffrey R. Brender, Gadisetti VR Chandramouli, Yasunori Otowa, Kota Yamashita, Kazutoshi Yamamoto, Nallathamby Devasahayam, and Murali C. Krishna. "Abstract 5974: Multimodal molecular imaging detects early reoxygenation induced by hyaluronan depletion in pancreatic cancer model mouse." Cancer Research 82, no. 12_Supplement (June 15, 2022): 5974. http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.am2022-5974.
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Abstract [Purpose] In pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) which is characterized by an intense desmoplastic feature, the extracellular matrix (ECM) can significantly influence the tumor microenvironment (TME). Hyaluronan (HA), a major component of ECM, is associated with elevated tumor pressure, vascular collapse, and poor perfusion in TME, conferring hypoxia. HA expression is also correlated with poor prognosis in the patients with PDAC. PEGylated human hyaluronidase (PEGPH20) enzymatically depletes hyaluronan in tumors. The resultant improvement in vascular patency and blood perfusion is expected to increase the delivery of therapeutic molecules. The aim of this study was to investigate the change in physiologic and metabolic profile of the tumor in response to treatment with PEGPH20 using multi-modal imaging techniques. We also investigated the capability of PEGPH20 to enhance treatment effect of radiation. [Methods] Athymic nude mice were inoculated with BxPC3 (human pancreatic adenocarcinoma) tumor cells transduced with hyaluronan synthase 3 (HAS3) to the right tibial periosteum. BxPC3-HAS3 tumor treated with PEGPH20 or control buffer were scanned with Electron paramagnetic Resonance imaging (EPRI), dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) MRI, ultra-small superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) MRI, Photoacoustic imaging (PAI), and Hyperpolarized 13C-MRI using [1-13C] pyruvate to evaluate intratumor pO2, intratumor perfusion, blood volume, O2 saturation, and glycolysis, respectively. [Results] EPRI showed significantly increased pO2 in PEGPH20 treated group. DCE-MRI and USPIO-MRI showed improved perfusion/permeability and local blood volume, respectively after PEGPH20 treatment, accounting for the increase in tumor oxygenation. PAI provided the evidence of immediate changes in tumor oxygenation after treatment. Hyperpolarized 13C-MRI using [1-13C] pyruvate suggested the decreased glycolytic flux evaluated by lactate/pyruvate ratio after PEGPH20 treatment. Combination of radiotherapy and PEGPH20 synergistically delayed tumor progression and prolonged the survival. [Conclusions] This study examined the effect of PEGPH20 on TME in PDAC xenograft model by using non-invasive multimodal imaging techniques. In summary, the non-invasive imaging modalities were useful in evaluating the changes in hemodynamics and metabolism in TME induced by modulation of ECM such as PEGPH20 treatment. PEGPH20 enhanced treatment effect of radiation therapy. The results validated the utility of the imaging methods to non-invasively monitor the changes in TME and predicted the radiosensitizing effect of hyaluronan depletion. Citation Format: Yu Saida, Tomohiro Seki, Shun Kishimoto, Jeffrey R. Brender, Gadisetti VR. Chandramouli, Yasunori Otowa, Kota Yamashita, Kazutoshi Yamamoto, Nallathamby Devasahayam, Murali C. Krishna. Multimodal molecular imaging detects early reoxygenation induced by hyaluronan depletion in pancreatic cancer model mouse [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 5974.
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Hendley, Audrey M., Atsushi Urano, Xianlu L. Peng, Sudipta Ashe, Natanya R. Kerper, Tuan A. Phu, Martin Ng, et al. "Abstract C051: Ceramide signaling regulates PDA aggression through exosome reprogramming of the stroma." Cancer Research 82, no. 22_Supplement (November 15, 2022): C051. http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.panca22-c051.
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Abstract Ceramide is a bioactive lipid signaling molecule that regulates multiple cellular processes influencing pancreatic tumor progression and drug response. The pleiotropic role of ceramide signaling in cancer includes modulation of exosome biogenesis and secretion. Smpd3 encodes an enzyme that generates ceramide through hydrolysis of sphingomyelin. Employing the KPC mouse model of pancreatic cancer, we demonstrated that Smpd3 regulates exosome biogenesis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) cells and is pro-tumorigenic during PDA progression. Ablation of Smdp3 in KPC mice significantly extends survival by 19% when compared to KPC; Smpd3wt/wt controls. KPC; Smpd3f/f mice display significantly less PanIN and tumor burden compared to KPC; Smpd3wt/wt controls. Lipidomics analysis of epithelial cell lines generated from end-stage pancreatic tumors of KPC; Smpd3f/f and KPC; Smpd3wt/wt mice demonstrated an alteration in hundreds of lipid species including ceramides, triacylglycerides, sphingomyelins, and phosphatidylcholines. Analysis of RNA-seq data of these epithelial cell lines showed a switching of primary tumors from the predominant more aggressive basal-like subtype seen in KPC; Smpd3wt/wt mice to classical in KPC; Smpd3f/f mice. Pathways analysis of our RNA-seq dataset showed an enrichment for genes involved in cellular mechanics and regulation of the tumor microenvironment. To query if Smpd3-generated exosomes have a direct effect on pancreatic tumor progression, we injected KPC; Smpd3wt/wt and KPC; Smpd3f/f mice with exosomes isolated from KPC; Smpd3f/f and KPC; Smpd3wt/wt PDA cell lines. Injection of exosomes derived from KPC; Smpd3f/f mice significantly extended survival of both Smpd3wt/wt and KPC; Smpd3f/f mice when compared to injection of exosomes isolated from KPC; Smpd3wt/wt mice, suggesting an anti-tumorigenic effect of exosomes isolated from Smpd3-deficient PDA cell lines. We observed a decrease in extracellular matrix collagen abundance and fewer activated stellate cells and fibroblasts in KPC; Smpd3f/f compared to control KPC; Smpd3wt/wt pancreata. Abrogation of Smpd3 expression also affected immune cell infiltration, as demonstrated by a significant increase in iNOS+ F4/80+ double positive macrophages in KPC; Smpd3f/f pancreata when compared to KPC; Smpd3wt/wt pancreata. Loss of Smpd3 resulted in a significant reduction in CD31+ endothelial cells in pancreatic tumors of KPC; Smpd3f/f mice when compared to KPC; Smpd3wt/wt mice, which may influence the ability of chemotherapeutics to enter pancreatic tumors. Our patient data demonstrate that high SMPD3 expression in surgically resected, treatment naive PDA significantly correlated with longer patient survival when patients received adjuvant chemotherapy, more than 95% of which was gemcitabine. Collectively, our data show that ceramide-dependent exosomes promote tumorigenesis, specifically activation of stellate cells and fibroblasts – which may in turn induce a stiff, fibrotic, proinflammatory tumor microenvironment that also impedes vasculature formation. Citation Format: Audrey M. Hendley, Atsushi Urano, Xianlu L. Peng, Sudipta Ashe, Natanya R. Kerper, Tuan A. Phu, Martin Ng, Simone Giacometti, David I. Berrios, Gun H. Jang, Jen J. Yeh, Steven Gallinger, David K. Chang, Andrew V. Biankin, Valerie M. Weaver, Grace E. Kim, David W. Dawson, Robert L. Raffai, Matthias Hebrok. Ceramide signaling regulates PDA aggression through exosome reprogramming of the stroma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer; 2022 Sep 13-16; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(22 Suppl):Abstract nr C051.
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Ravindranathan, Sruthi, Tenzin Passang Fnu, Jian Ming Li, Rohan Dhamsania, Michael Ware, Mohammad Zaidi, Shuhua Wang, et al. "748 Targeting vasoactive intestinal peptide receptor signaling in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma for enhanced anti-tumor response to checkpoint blockade." Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 9, Suppl 2 (November 2021): A779—A781. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jitc-2021-sitc2021.748.
Full textAbstract:
BackgroundPaucity of T cells in the immune privileged tumor microenvironment (TME) of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a major reason that PDAC is refractory to immune checkpoint blockade.1 In this study, we show that human PDAC tumors over-express vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), an immunosuppressive neuropeptide, that inhibits effector T cell responses and regulates chemokine receptor expression on activated T cells.2 3 We thus hypothesized that pharmacological inhibition of VIP receptor signaling could enhance anti-tumor responses in PDAC.MethodsVIP levels in plasma were determined via VIP-specific enzyme immunoassay and confirmed with immunohistochemistry (IHC) of tissue sections. VIP receptor (VIP-R) signaling in C57BL/6 immunocompetent murine models of KPC, MT5 or Panc02 pancreatic cancer was inhibited by daily sub-cutaneous treatment with ANT008 or ANT308, two novel VIP-R antagonists with predicted high binding affinities to VIP receptors.4–7 Multiplex IHC or flow cytometry detected frequencies and phenotypes of intra-tumoral T cells across treatment groups.ResultsHuman PDAC tumors expressed VIP by immunohistochemistry, and PDAC patients had significantly elevated plasma VIP levels when compared to healthy volunteers (p<0.01, figure 1). Inhibiting VIP-R signaling in combination with anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody (MoAb) synergistically enhanced T-cell dependent anti-tumor responses in murine PDAC resulting in elimination of tumors in up to 30% of the animals and increased intratumoral CD4+ or CD8+ T cell density in orthotopic murine PDAC (figure 2). VIP-R antagonist+anti-PD-1 combination therapy significantly increased intratumoral T cell activation and the proportion of tumor specific CD8+ T cells when compared to control (p<0.01, figure 3–5). Furthermore, tumor-free mice that had been treated with VIP-R antagonist and anti-PD-1 MoAb remained tumor-free upon tumor rechallenge, indicating that combination treatment induced robust immunological memory. Interestingly, anti-PD-1 monotherapy increased expression of CXCR4 on T cells in tumor draining lymph nodes, a chemokine receptor that has been shown to trap T cells in the extracellular tumor matrix. On the other hand, combination therapy with VIP-R antagonists and anti-PD1 MoAb significantly decreased CXCR4 expression and promoted homing of adoptively-transferred GFP+ T cells into the tumors.ConclusionsVIP-R antagonists represent a novel approach to treat PDAC. VIP and VIP-R sequences are highly conserved between humans and mice,8 and human T cells are activated in vitro following treatment with VIP-R antagonists. Thus, we predict comparable anti-tumor activity of the combination of VIP-R antagonist and anti-PD-1 MoAb in human PDAC patients. Further clinical development of this novel concept will require appropriate pre-clinical pharmacokinetic and toxicology studies.AcknowledgementsThe authors thank healthy volunteers and patients for blood and/or tissue samples. The authors also thank the shared resources at Emory University, namely the Emory Integrated Genomics Core (EIGC), Emory Flow Cytometry Core (EFCC), Cancer Animal Models Shared Resource (CAMS), Cancer Tissue Pathology Core (CTP), Biostatistics Shared Resource (BSR) and Integrated Cellular Imaging Core (ICI), that provided services or instruments at subsidized cost to conduct some of the reported experiments. BioRender was used to make figure 4A and 5C. This work was supported in part by Katz Foundation funding and Emory School of Medicine Dean's Imagine, Innovate and Impact (I3) venture award to Edmund K. Waller and NIH R01 CA207619 awarded to Susan N. Thomas. Part of the cost for the immunohistochemistry staining of tissues was covered by Winship Cancer Institute Development Discovery and Therapeutic Program Pilot funding to Sruthi Ravindranathan.Abstract 748 Figure 1VIP is over-expressed by PDAC. (A) VIP mRNA expression levels in various solid malignancies, as obtained from TCGA. (B) Representative images of human PDAC tumor stained with antibodies to VIP or CK19, showing VIP co-expression in islets (black arrow) and cancer epithelial cells (red arrow). Levels of VIP in (C) culture supernatants collected from murine and human PDAC cell lines cultured for 24 hours (n=3 per cell line) were compared to culture supernatants from B16F10 and D4M melanoma cells; (D) plasma of mice bearing melanoma or PDAC tumors (n=5) compared to plasma of non-tumor-bearing mice; (E) plasma of PDAC patients (n=19) compared to that from healthy volunteers (n=26). Statistical differences in C and D were performed by ANOVA followed by Dunnett's post-test and in E were performed by student's t-test. Error bars show mean ± SEM. *p<0.05, **<0.01, ***p<0.001 and ****p<0.0001.Abstract 748 Figure 2VIP-R antagonists improve responses to anti-PD-1. KPC.Luc, MT5 or Panc02 cells were subcutaneously implanted in immunocompetent C57BL/6 mice. About one week after tumor implantation, when the tumors were palpable, mice were randomized into treatment groups and treated with VIP-R antagonist and/or anti-PD-1 as described in methods. (A) KPC.Luc, MT5 and Panc02 tumor volumes as measured by Vernier calipers on day 22 after subcutaneous tumor implantation. (B) Kaplan-Meier survival plots of C57BL/6 mice with subcutaneously implanted KPC.Luc, MT5 or Panc02 tumors stratified by treatment. Kaplan-Meier survival plots of (C) C57BL/6 mice receiving monoclonal CD4 and/or CD8 monoclonal antibodies (D) CD4KO or (E) CD8KO mice compared to wild-type CD57BL/6 mice with subcutaneously implanted KPC.Luc tumors, stratified by treatment. Statistical differences in A were calculated by ANOVA followed by Dunnett's post-test. Solid line shows mean with in each treatment group. Statistical differences in B-E are calculated via Log-rank test. *p<0.05, **p<0.01 and ***p<0.001, ****p<0.0001.Abstract 748 Figure 3Enhanced T cell response with combination therapy. mRNA expression in T cells isolated from subcutaneous KPC.Luc tumors in C57BL/6 mice treated with ANT008 and/or anti-PD-1 (n=3 per treatment group), were analyzed via Nanostring metabolism panel. Volcano plot showing differential expression of genes in T cells from (A) ANT008+ isotype IgG (IgG) vs scrambled peptide (Scram) + isotype IgG, (B) scrambled peptide +anti-PD-1 vs scrambled peptide + isotype IgG and (C) ANT008+anti-PD-1 vs scrambled peptide + isotype IgG (n=3 mice per treatment group). Genes that are associated with TCR activation and co-stimulation and are at levels significantly higher when compared to Scram+ isotype IgG (FDR<0.1) are labeled in red. (D) Heat map showing gene expression changes in genes associated with TCR activation and co-stimulation. (E) TCR activation and co-stimulation pathway score between the T cells in tumors of mice from the different treatment groups. (F) CD8+ T cells in subcutaneous KPC.Luc tumors were stained with MuLV p15E-H2Kb tetramer after 10 days of treatment with ANT308 and/or anti-PD-1 (n=3 per treatment group) and analyzed via flow cytometry for percentage of tetramer+ CD8+ T cells. (G) Kaplan-Meier survival curves of subcutaneous KPC.Luc bearing mice treated with ANT008 and/or anti-PD-1 from day 3–12 after tumor implantation (n=3 per scrambled peptide + isotype IgG, ANT008+ isotype IgG and scrambled peptide + anti-PD-1 treatment groups; n=8 in ANT008 + anti-PD-1 treatment group). (H) Kaplan-Meier survival curves of tumor free mice from G that were re-challenged with KPC.Luc tumors on the opposite flank (n=3 per scrambled peptide + isotype IgG and scrambled peptide + anti-PD-1 treatment group; n=5 in ANT008+anti-PD-1 treatment group). Statistical differences in E and F were calculated via ANOVA followed by Dunnett's post-test and in G and H were calculated using Log-rank test. Error bars show mean ± SEM *p<0.05, **p<0.001, ***p<0.0001.Abstract 748 Figure 4Increased T cell density with combination therapy. KPC.Luc cells were orthotopically implanted in the tail of the pancreas of C57BL/6 mice and treated with ANT008 and/or anti-PD-1 with n=9, 10, 8 and 11 in scrambled+IgG, ANT008+IgG, scrambled+anti-PD-1 and ANT008+anti-PD-1, respectively. (A) Schematic showing orthotopic implantation of KPC.Luc cells and treatment strategy with ANT008 and/or anti-PD-1. (B) Waterfall plot showing % change in tumor flux on day 22 relative to day 7 prior to start of treatment. (C) Total flux as measured by IVIS bioluminescent imaging in the different treatment groups. Cross symbol represents mice that were euthanized before day 25 due to ulceration of the tumor and circle symbol represent mouse that were imaged on day 26 via MRI imaging shown in supplementary figure S5. (D) Bar graph showing weight of pancreas on day 25 when the mice were euthanized. 'Star' shaped data points indicate tumor free mice and dotted horizontal line represents the average weight of healthy pancreas from naïve mice. (E) Representative multiplex IHC images (right) showing pancreatic tumors stained for DAPI (blue), CD4 (yellow), CD8 (red) and Ki67 (cyan) and trichrome staining (left) with black arrows showing blue collagen stain in the tissue. XY plot showing the correlation between number of (F) CD4+ or (G) CD8+ T cells/mm2; and (H) Ki67+ CD4+ or (I) Ki67+ CD8+ T cells/mm2 with weight of the pancreas with n=4 to 6 mice per group. P values in panel D were calculated using student ANOVA followed by Dunnett's post hoc test (comparing each treatment group with Scram+IgG). Error bars show mean ± SEM. *p<0.05, **p<0.01.Abstract 748 Figure 5Increased T cell homing with combination therapy. KPC.Luc tumors were subcutaneously implanted in C57BL/6 mice and treated with VIP-R antagonist and/or anti-PD-1 checkpoint therapy for 10 days after the tumors were palpable. Tumor draining lymph nodes were then analyzed for percentage of (A) CXCR4+CD69+ and (B) CXCR4+Ki67+ cells in CD4+ (left) and CD8+ (right) subsets of T cells. In a separate experiment, on day 15 after subcutaneous implantation of KPC.Luc tumors, GFP+ T cells from enhanced GFP transgenic mice (C57BL/6 background) were adoptively transferred (via tail vein injections) and treated with ANT308± aPD-1 for 3 days. (C) Schematic showing GFP+ T cell transfer and treatment strategy in mice with subcutaneous KPC.Luc tumors. (D) Representative Hoescht (blue for nucleus) stained tumor tissues from tumors of each treatment group. Two regions of interest (ROI) in ANT308+aPD-1 treated tumors are shown at higher magnification. Statistical differences in A and B were determined via repeated measures ANOVA and Dunnett's post-test with n=4–5 mice per group. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, **p<0.001, p<0.0001.ReferencesSahin IH, et al. Immunotherapy in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: an emerging entity? Ann Oncol 2017;28(12):2950–2961.Gonzalez-Rey E, Anderson P, Delgado M. Emerging roles of vasoactive intestinal peptide: a new approach for autoimmune therapy. Ann Rheum Dis 2007;66(Suppl 3):p. iii70–6.Anderson P, Gonzalez-Rey E. Vasoactive intestinal peptide induces cell cycle arrest and regulatory functions in human T cells at multiple levels. Mol Cell Biol 2010;30(10):2537–51.Li JM, et al. VIPhyb, an antagonist of vasoactive intestinal peptide receptor, enhances cellular antiviral immunity in murine cytomegalovirus infected mice. PLoS One 2013;8(5):e63381.Moody TW, et al., VIP receptor antagonists and chemotherapeutic drugs inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2001;68(1):55–64.Moody TW, et al. A vasoactive-Intestinal-Peptide antagonist inhibits nonsmall cell lung-cancer growth. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 1993;90(10):4345–4349.Zia H, et al. Breast cancer growth is inhibited by vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) hybrid, a synthetic VIP receptor antagonist. Cancer Res 1996;56(15):3486–9.Sena M, et al. High conservation of upstream regulatory sequences on the human and mouse vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) genes. DNA Seq 1994;5(1):25–9.Ethics ApprovalAll experimental procedures involving mice were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at Emory University. De-identified blood samples from consented patients with PDAC (IRB 00087397) or healthy volunteers (IRB 00046063) were obtained with approval from Institutional Review Boards.
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Costa, Debora Barbosa Vendramini, Ralph Francescone, Janusz Franco-Barraza, Tiffany Luong, Nina Steele, Benjamin Allen, Marina Pasca di Magliano, et al. "Abstract PO-096: The synaptic protein Netrin G1 ligand (NGL-1) modulates tumorigenesis and immunosuppression in pancreatic cancer." Cancer Research 81, no. 22_Supplement (November 15, 2021): PO—096—PO—096. http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.panca21-po-096.
Full textAbstract:
Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the deadliest types of cancer, with a 5-year survival of 10%. A major feature of PDAC is the presence of a dense fibrous stroma, due to the expansion of cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and their extracellular matrix. This unique environment represents a challenge for therapies as it promotes immunosuppression, limits access to nutrients, and excludes or inactivates antitumor immune cells. Recently, we identified the ectopic expression of the neuronal protein Netrin G1 Ligand (NGL-1) in PDAC tissue, including its novel expression in immune cells and CAFs. However, the roles of NGL-1 in the tumor microenvironment (TME) of PDAC and in immune cell function are unknown and warranted further investigation. The contribution of NGL-1 to PDAC tumorigenesis was assessed by measuring the expression of NGL-1 in different models of PDAC and by orthotopically injecting PDAC cells in wild type (WT) or NGL-1 full body knockout mice (KO). Using our in vitro 3D system we evaluated if NGL-1+ CAFs, compared to NGL-1 knockdown (KD) CAFs, produced less immunosuppressive factors and were able to rescue PDAC cell survival under nutrient deprivation. For NGL-1 dependent immune cell functions we isolated naïve immune cells from WT and KO mice and performed ex-vivo functional assays. NGL-1 expression in fibroblasts correlated with disease development in different models of PDAC, and myeloid, T and NK cells from tumor bearing mice tended to overexpress NGL-1 when compared with cells from naïve mice. Accordingly, NGL-1 KO mice orthotopically injected with PDAC cells developed smaller tumors with decreased secretion of immunosuppressive factors, increased presence of CD8+ T cells and CD4+ T cells expressing less pro-tumor markers. Single cell RNA sequencing data from tumors from KO mice showed downregulation of pro-tumor genes in different cell populations, with the fibroblastic populations differing between WT and KO mice. In order to evaluate the contribution of the immune system for tumorigenesis in WT and KO mice, we performed bone marrow chimeras and depletion of specific immune cells. Functionally, CD8+ and CD4+ T cells from KO mice proliferated more when stimulated in vitro, suggesting that NGL-1 could represent a functional brake for T cells, inhibiting their anti-tumor capacity. The lack of NGL-1 in stimulated bone marrow-derived macrophages decreased pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion, further suggesting a functional role for NGL-1 in myeloid cells. Of note, NGL-1 KD CAFs did not support PDAC cell survival in vitro and produced less immunosuppressive cytokines, which was phenocopied by the treatment with a peptide targeting NGL-1. Translationally, we assessed the overall survival of 140 PDAC patients according to NGL-1 expression in the TME, where low expression of NGL-1 in CAFs and immune cells correlated with better survival of PDAC patients. Overall, this suggests NGL-1 as potential new target in PDAC, that could be manipulated in different compartments in pancreatic cancer. Citation Format: Debora Barbosa Vendramini Costa, Ralph Francescone, Janusz Franco-Barraza, Tiffany Luong, Nina Steele, Benjamin Allen, Marina Pasca di Magliano, Charline Ogier, Igor Astsaturov, Kathy Q. Cai, Andres J. Klein-Szanto, Huamin Wang, Kerry Campbell, Edna Cukierman. The synaptic protein Netrin G1 ligand (NGL-1) modulates tumorigenesis and immunosuppression in pancreatic cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer; 2021 Sep 29-30. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(22 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-096.