Matrix stiffness mediates pancreatic cancer chemoresistance through induction of exosome hypersecretion in a cancer associated fibroblasts-tumor organoid biomimetic model.

ABSTRACT: In pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the abundant stromal cells which comprise the tumor microenvironment constitute more than 90% of the primary tumor bulk. Moreover, this desmoplastic environment has been found to be three times stiffer than normal pancreas tissue. Despite the importance of studying the desmoplastic environment of PDAC, there is still a lack of models designed to adequately recapitulate this complex stiff microenvironment, a critical hallmark of the disease that has been shown to induce chemoresistance. Here, we present a bio-mimetic, 3-dimensional co-culture system that integrates tumor organoids and host-matching stromal cancer associated-fibroblasts (CAFs) that recapitulates the complex, fibrotic matrix of PDAC using advanced biomaterials. With this model, we s

SUBMITTER: Xiao W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9126837 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature