Inter- and intra-tumoural heterogeneity in cancer-associated fibroblasts of human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

ABSTRACT: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) are orchestrators of the pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) microenvironment. Stromal heterogeneity may explain differential pathophysiological roles of the stroma (pro- versus anti-tumoural) in PDAC. We hypothesised that multiple CAF functional subtypes exist in PDAC, that contribute to stromal heterogeneity through interactions with cancer cells. Using molecular and functional analysis of patient-derived CAF primary cultures, we demonstrated that human PDAC-derived CAFs display a high level of inter- and intra-tumour heterogeneity. We identified at least four subtypes of CAFs based on transcriptomic analysis, and propose a classification for human PDAC-derived CAFs (pCAFassigner). Multiple CAF subtypes co-existed in individual patient samples. The

SUBMITTER: Neuzillet C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6492001 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature