Single-cell and bulk transcriptomics identify senescence-related EMT transcriptional programs and a prognostic framework in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Senescence-related transcriptional programs and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) are implicated in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) progression and therapy resistance. However, the single-cell distribution, functional heterogeneity, and clinical relevance of EMT-associated senescence-like programs remain incompletely defined.

Methods

We integrated single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data from 10 treatment-naive PDAC tumors with bulk transcriptomic profiles from TCGA-PAAD and an independent validation cohort. Senescence-related transcriptional activity was estimated using ssGSEA based on a curated CellAge gene set. EMT-like tumor cell subclusters were identified by unsupervised clustering after marker-based annotation, and differentiation trajector

SUBMITTER: Chen LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC13628733 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature