Pancreatic Cell News Volume 10.25 | Jul 2 2019

TOP STORY

Enhancer Signatures Stratify and Predict Outcomes of Non-Functional Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

Using enhancer maps to infer gene regulatory programs, researchers found that non-functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors fell into two major subtypes, with epigenomes and transcriptomes that partially resembled islet α- and β-cells. [Nat Med] Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

DIABETES & PANCREATITIS

Human Pancreatic Islet Three-Dimensional Chromatin Architecture Provides Insights into the Genetics of Type 2 Diabetes

Scientists created promoter capture Hi-C maps in human pancreatic islets. This linked diabetes-associated enhancers to their target genes, often located hundreds of kilobases away. [Nat Genet] Abstract

Pancreatic Human Islets and Insulin-Producing Cells Derived from Embryonic Stem Cells Are Rapidly Identified by a Newly Developed Dithizone

The authors developed an optimized dipheylthiocarbazone or dithizone with improved physical and chemical properties to characterize human islets and insulin-producing cells differentiated from embryonic stem cells. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Pancreatic Alpha-Cell Mass in the Early-Onset and Advanced Stage of a Mouse Model of Experimental Autoimmune Diabetes

Researchers characterized the pancreatic alpha-cell mass and its regulatory processes in the transgenic RIP-B7.1 mice model of experimental autoimmune diabetes. Diabetic mice presented insulitis, hyperglycaemia, hypoinsulinemia and hyperglucagonemia along with lower pancreatic insulin content. [Sci Rep] Full Article

The Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) Protects Pancreatic Beta Cells against Forkhead Box Class O1 (FOXO1)-Induced Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Cell Apoptosis

Investigators demonstrated that vitamin D levels were significantly lower in 40 gestational diabetes mellitus patients. The silencing of the vitamin D receptor decreased cell survival and increased both FoxO1 mRNA and protein expression. [Biomed Pharmacother] Full Article

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Contributes to NMDA-Induced Pancreatic β-Cell Dysfunction in a Chop-Dependent Manner

Tauroursodeoxycholic acid, an inhibitor of endoplasmic reticulum stress, significantly attenuated N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA)-induced β-cell dysfunction, including the loss of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and reduction of pancreas duodenum homeobox factor-1 mRNA expression, a transcription factor regulating insulin synthesis. [Life Sci] Full Article

PANCREATIC CANCER

EGFR-Pak Signaling Selectively Regulates Glutamine Deprivation-Induced Macropinocytosis

Scientists provided evidence that a subset of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumors were wired to integrate contextual metabolic inputs to regulate macropinocytosis, dialing up or down this uptake pathway depending on nutrient availability. [Dev Cell] Full Article | Press Release | Graphical Abstract

Neratinib Inhibits Hippo/YAP Signaling, Reduces Mutant K-RAS Expression, and Kills Pancreatic and Blood Cancer Cells

The authors discovered that neratinib interacted with the chemically distinct irreversible ERBB1/2/4 inhibitor afatinib to reduce expression of ERBB1, ERBB2, K-RAS and N-RAS; this was associated with greater-than-additive cell killing of pancreatic tumor cells. [Oncogene] Abstract

Upregulation of the Glutaminase II Pathway Contributes to Glutamate Production upon Glutaminase 1 Inhibition in Pancreatic Cancer

Genetic suppression of glutamine transaminase K (GTK), a key enzyme of the glutaminase II pathway, led to complete inhibition of pancreatic tumorigenesis in vivo, unveiling GTK as a new metabolic target for cancer therapy. [Proteomics] Abstract

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miRNA Predictors of Pancreatic Cancer Chemotherapeutic Response: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The authors evaluate the association between miRNAs and response to chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer patients. [Cancers] Full Article

Visit our reviews page to see a complete list of reviews in the pancreatic cell research field.

CRISPR Therapeutics Announces Oral Presentation

CRISPR Therapeutics announced that it will present an oral presentation: “CRISPR-editing of hESCs allows for production of immune evasive cells capable of differentiation to pancreatic progenitors for future type 1 diabetes therapy”. [Press release from CRISPR Therapeutics discussing research to be presented at the 55^th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Barcelona] Press Release

ActoBio Therapeutics™ Progresses AG019 to Next Stage of a Phase Ib/IIa Clinical Study for the Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes

ActoBio Therapeutics™ has announced that it will progress to the next stage of the Phase Ib/IIa clinical trial for investigational drug AG019 for the treatment of early-onset type 1 diabetes. [ActoBio Therapeutics™] Press Release

Cotinga Pharmaceuticals Doses First Patient in Third Cohort of Phase Ib/IIa Combination Trial of COTI-2 in Solid Tumors

Cotinga Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced that the company has commenced dosing patients in the third cohort of its ongoing Phase Ib/IIa clinical trial of COTI-2 plus cisplatin in solid tumors. [Cotinga Pharmaceuticals Inc. (GlobeNewswire, Inc.)] Press Release

Seven Scientists Receive PanCAN Research Grants

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) has announced the recipients of its 2019 research grants. Seven grants, totaling to more than $3 million, were awarded this year, bringing PanCAN’s total projected research investment to approximately $104 million, including its grants program and clinical and scientific initiatives. [Pancreatic Cancer Action Network] Press Release

Germany’s Prestigious Max Planck Society Conducts Huge Bullying Survey

Most of the scientists who work for one of the world’s richest and most prestigious basic research organizations, the Max Planck Society (MPS) in Germany, have pride and trust in their institutes — but cases of sexual discrimination and bullying occur regularly, and nearly half of foreign scientists working for the MPS don’t feel they fit in. [Nature News] Editorial

Taiwan to Crack Down on Unauthorized Research Collaborations with Mainland China

According to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, the island’s government is investigating seven researchers for allegedly joining a prestigious programme sponsored by the mainland China government to lure academics to the mainland without the necessary permissions. [Nature News] Editorial

NEW 55^th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD)
September 16-20, 2019
Barcelona, Spain

Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the community.

NEW Research Scientist – Endocrine Pancreas Development (Helmholtz Zentrum München)

NEW Postdoctoral Position – Immunology (Roswell Park Cancer Institute)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Pancreas Cancer Research (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Research Lab Specialist – Tumor Microenvironment & Cell Behavior (University of Southern California)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cancer Drug Response Research (University of Texas at Austin)

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Jak-Stat Signaling in Prostate and Pancreatic Cancer (Medical College of Wisconsin)

Postdoctoral Position – Lung and Pancreatic Cancers (University of California, San Francisco)

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Regenerative Medicine and Metabolic Biology (Indiana Biosciences Research Institute)

Research Positions – Pancreatic Beta-Cells (Université de Montréal)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Neuroscience and Diabetes (The Child Health Institute of New Jersey)

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