Pancreatic Cell News Volume 7.26 | Jul 5 2016

TOP STORY

Immune-Based Therapy in Mice Shows Promise against Pancreatic Cancer

While immune therapy has proven effective in treating certain types of cancer, especially lung cancer and melanoma, tumors of the pancreas remain among the most difficult to treat and, so far, are impervious to immune-based therapies. Now, a new study in mice has shown that immunotherapy against pancreatic cancer can be effective when given in conjunction with drugs that break up the fibrous tissue in these tumors. [Press release from the Washington University of St. Louis discussing online prepublication in Nature Medicine] Press Release | Abstract

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

DIABETES & PANCREATITIS

Dopamine D2 Receptor-Mediated Regulation of Pancreatic β Cell Mass

Understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate β cell mass and proliferation is important for the treatment of diabetes. Researchers identified domperidone, a dopamine D2 receptor antagonist that enhances β cell mass. [Stem Cell Reports] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Control of Insulin Secretion by Production of Reactive Oxygen Species: Study Performed in Pancreatic Islets from Fed and 48-Hour Fasted Wistar Rats

Investigators examined the involvement of ROS produced through NADPH oxidase in the leucine- and/or glucose-induced insulin secretion by pancreatic islets from fed or 48-hour fasted rats. Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in isolated islets was evaluated at low or high glucose concentrations in the presence or absence of leucine and/or NADPH oxidase inhibitors. [PLoS One] Full Article

PANCREATIC CANCER

NeuCode Proteomics Reveals Bap1 Regulation of Metabolism

Scientists introduce neutron-encoded (NeuCode) amino acid labeling of mice as a strategy for multiplexed proteomic analysis in vivo. Using NeuCode, they characterized an inducible knockout mouse model of Bap1, a tumor suppressor and deubiquitinase whose in vivo roles outside of cancer are not well established. [Cell Rep] Full Article | Graphical Abstract

Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase Enhances Disease Aggressiveness in Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) expresses high level of inducible nitric oxide synthase, which causes sustained production of nitric oxide (NO). Researchers tested the hypothesis that an aberrantly increased NO-release enhances the development and progression of PDAC. [Oncotarget] Full Article

Long Noncoding RNA MALAT1 Promotes Aggressive Pancreatic Cancer Proliferation and Metastasis via the Stimulation of Autophagy

The molecular mechanism of elevated MALAT1 levels and tumor aggressiveness remains unknown. Researchers found MALAT1 to be highly expressed in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tissues, and elevated expression was associated with poorer prognoses. Additionally, MALAT1 was positively linearly correlated with the expression of LC3B mRNA. [Mol Cancer Ther] Abstract

Slug Inhibits Pancreatic Cancer Initiation by Blocking Kras-Induced Acinar-Ductal Metaplasia

Transgenic mice expressing Slug and Kras in acinar cells were generated. Slug attenuated Kras-induced acinar-ductal metaplasia (ADM) development, ERK1/2 phosphorylation and proliferation. Co-expression of Slug with Kras also attenuated chronic pancreatitis-induced changes in ADM development and fibrosis. [Sci Rep] Full Article

ATRA Modulates Mechanical Activation of TGF-β by Pancreatic Stellate Cells

Investigators study the mechanical activation of transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) by pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) in vitro by investigating latent TGF-β binding protein (LTBP-1) organization with fibrillar fibronectin and show that all trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), which induces PSC quiescence, down-regulates the ability of PSCs to mechanically organize LTBP-1 and activate TGF-β through a mechanism involving myosin II dependent contractility. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Efficient Elimination of Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells by Hedgehog/GLI Inhibitor GANT61 in Combination with mTOR Inhibition

The authors investigated the significance of hedgehog signaling in the maintenance of cancer stem cells-like properties of pancreatic cancer cells, in order to discover the key molecules controlling their unique properties. [Mol Cancer] Full Article

The Role of Enhancers in Cancer

The authors review the role of enhancers in cancer, and their potential as therapeutic targets. [Nat Rev Cancer] Abstract

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

NAPOLI-1 Data Demonstrates ONIVYDE^® Regimen Maintains Quality of Life While Improving Overall Survival in Patients with Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced a newly presented analysis of the Phase III NAPOLI-1 data shows patients treated with ONIVYDE^® (irinotecan liposome injection) in combination with fluorouracil (5-FU) and leucovorin, maintain similar baseline quality of life at 12 weeks despite the addition of a second chemotherapeutic agent when compared to 5-FU and leucovorin alone. [Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.] Press Release

Bristol-Myers Squibb and PsiOxus Therapeutics Announce Immuno-Oncology Clinical Collaboration to Evaluate the Combination of Opdivo and Enadenotucirev

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and PsiOxus Therapeutics, Ltd. announced an exclusive clinical collaboration agreement to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of PsiOxus’ enadenotucirev, a systemically administered oncolytic adenovirus therapeutic, in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Immuno-Oncology agent Opdivo (nivolumab) to treat a range of tumor types in late-stage cancer patients. [Bristol-Myers Squibb Company] Press Release

NEW 2016 World Cancer Congress
October 31-November 3, 2016
Paris, France

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

NEW Postdoctoral Fellow – Pancreas Cancer (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

NEW Postdoctoral Fellow – Osteotropic Immunophenotype in Gastroentero-Pancreatic Neuro-Endocrine Tumors (Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro)

Principal Investigator – Tenure Track Position (National Institutes of Health)

Postdoctoral Fellowship – Various Projects (University of Pittsburgh)

Research Fellow – Pancreatic β-Cell Biology and Regeneration (Dresden University of Technology)

Senior Lecturer – Pancreatic Cancer (Queen Mary University of London)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Pancreatic Cancer Metabolism (Thomas Jefferson University)

Postdoctoral Fellows – Various Positions (Oregon Health & Science University)

Senior Scientific Assistant – Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (University of Cambridge)

PhD Studentship – Molecular and Translational Aspects of Pancreatic Cancer (German Cancer Research Center)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Quantitative Hepato-Pancreatic MR Imaging (Inserm)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Type 2 Diabetes and Insulin Resistance (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology)

PhD Studentship – Type 2 Diabetes and Insulin Resistance (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology)

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

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