Cancer Associated Fibroblast (CAF) Regulation of PDAC Parenchymal (CPC) and CSC Phenotypes Is Modulated by ECM Composition.

ABSTRACT:

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 incu

SUBMITTER: Cannone S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9367491 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature