Assessment of the stromal contribution to Sonic Hedgehog-dependent pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

ABSTRACT: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains one of the most lethal malignancies. It is typically detected at an advanced stage, at which the therapeutic options are very limited. One remarkable feature of PDAC that contributes to its resilience to treatment is the extreme stromal activation seen in these tumors. Often, the vast majority of tumor bulk consists of non-tumor cells that together provide a tumor-promoting environment. One of the signals that maintains and activates the stroma is the developmental protein Sonic Hedgehog (SHH). As the disease progresses, tumor cells produce increasing amounts of SHH, which activates the surrounding stroma to aid in tumor progression. To better understand this response and identify targets for inhibition, we aimed to elucidate the proteins tha

SUBMITTER: Damhofer H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3838447 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature