Pancreatic Cell News Volume 9.22 | Jun 5 2018

TOP STORY

Organoid Profiling Identifies Common Responders to Chemotherapy in Pancreatic Cancer

The authors generated a pancreatic cancer patient-derived organoid library that recapitulates the mutational spectrum and transcriptional subtypes of primary pancreatic cancer. [Cancer Discov] Abstract | Full Article | Press Release

(Ranked by impact factor of the journal)

DIABETES & PANCREATITIS

Neuronatin Regulates Pancreatic β Cell Insulin Content and Secretion

Investigators demonstrated that mice lacking neuronatin globally or specifically in β cells displayed impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion leading to defective glucose handling under conditions of nutrient-excess. [J Clin Invest] Abstract | Full Article

Episodic β-Cell Death and Dedifferentiation during Diet-Induced Obesity and Dysglycemia in Male Mice

Researchers performed measures of circulating cell-free differentially methylated insulin II DNA as a biomarker of β-cell death and aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family member A3 and forkhead box 01 immunostaining as markers of β-cell dedifferentiation. [FASEB J] Abstract

Interferon-Gamma Drives Programmed Death-Ligand 1 Expression on Islet β Cells to Limit T Cell Function during Autoimmune Diabetes

Researchers interrogated β cell-intrinsic programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression in mouse and human islets. They measured a significant increase in the level of PD-L1 surface expression and the frequency of PD-L1⁺ β cells as non-obese diabetic mice aged and developed diabetes. [Sci Rep] Full Article

PANCREATIC CANCER

In Vivo Reprogramming Drives Kras-Induced Cancer Development

Investigators showed that the transient expression of reprogramming factors in pancreatic acinar cells results in the transient repression of acinar cell enhancers, which are similarly observed in pancreatitis. [Nat Commun] Full Article

MicroRNA-29c Increases the Chemosensitivity of Pancreatic Cancer Cells by Inhibiting USP22 Mediated Autophagy

Researchers examined the role of microRNA-29c and the involvement of autophagy and apoptosis in the chemoresistance of pancreatic cancer cells in vivo and in vitro. [Cell Physiol Biochem] Full Article

CDK8 Regulates the Angiogenesis of Pancreatic Cancer Cells in Part via the CDK8-β-Catenin-KLF2 Signal Axis

The authors investigated the contribution of CDK8 in pancreatic cancer angiogenesis and examined the underlying molecular mechanisms. [Exp Cell Res] Abstract

A Receptor Tyrosine Kinase ROR1 Inhibitor (KAN0439834) Induced Significant Apoptosis of Pancreatic Cells Which was Enhanced by Erlotinib and Ibrutinib

A small molecule inhibitor targeting the TK domain of ROR1 was developed and the activity in ROR1 expressing human pancreatic carcinoma cell lines evaluated. The effects were compared to a murine mAb against the external part of ROR1, gemcitabine, erlotinib and ibrutinib. [PLoS One] Full Article

MicroRNA-1179 Inhibits the Proliferation, Migration and Invasion of Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells by Targeting E2F5

Scientists indicated that the expression of miR-1179 was significantly downregulated in the pancreatic cancer cell lines as compared to the normal pancreatic cells. To unveil the potential role of miR-1179, it was overexpressed in the pancreatic cancer cells. [Chem Biol Interact] Abstract

Stem Cell Therapies for Treating Diabetes: Progress and Remaining Challenges

The authors describe current efforts aimed at generating a sustainable source of functional human stem cell-derived insulin-producing islet cells for cell transplantation and present state-of-the-art efforts to protect such cells via immune modulation and encapsulation strategies. [Cell Stem Cell] Full Article

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

Genisphere and Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health Collaborate on the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer

Genisphere LLC and the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health announced a research collaboration to develop novel approaches to treat pancreatic cancer. [Genisphere LLC] Press Release

PharmaCyte Biotech Receives Certificates of Analysis from Eurofins on Cells Used for Pancreatic Cancer Therapy

PharmaCyte Biotech, Inc. announced that it has received Certificates of Analysis and final reports of all tests that were performed by its contractor Eurofins on cells from PharmaCyte’s Master Cell Bank. [PharmaCyte Biotech, Inc.] Press Release

Europe’s Top Science Funder Shows High-Risk Research Pays Off

A popular and unusual self-review carried out by Europe’s most prestigious science funder is back. The annual assessment, now in its third year, found that nearly one in five projects by the European Research Council led to a scientific breakthrough. [Nature News] Editorial

‘Right-to-Try’ Law Intended to Weaken the FDA, Measure’s Sponsor Says in Blunt Remarks

Sen. Ron Johnson, the author of the federal “right-to-try” law signed by President Trump this week, wants to make one thing clear: His new law is meant to weaken the FDA. “This law intends to diminish the FDA’s power over people’s lives, not increase it,” he wrote in a letter to Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. [STAT News] Editorial

China to Crack Down on Fraud in Scandal-Hit Scientific Research amid ZTE Wrangle

China has issued the first national guidelines to enforce academic integrity in scientific research and vowed to punish academics and institutes for misconduct such as plagiarism and fabrication of data. [South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd] Editorial

Sweden Commits to Open Science with New Open-Access Publishing Deal

Swedish researchers can now publish their articles in Frontiers’ Open Access journals through a simplified process that covers publishing fees, thanks to a national agreement announced between Frontiers and the National Library of Sweden, on behalf of the organizations participating in the Bibsam Consortium. [American Association for the Advancement of Science] Editorial

NEW Cell Symposia: Translation of Stem Cells to the Clinic: Challenges and Opportunities
December 2-4, 2018
Los Angeles, California, United States

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

NEW Postdoctoral Position – Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Based Cell Therapy in Type 1 Diabetes (University of Copenhagen)

NEW Postdoctoral Fellowship – Pancreatic Cancer (European Molecular Biology Laboratory)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Pancreatic Islets & Beta Cell Transplantation (Karolinska Institutet)

Postdoctoral Positions – Translational Diabetes Research (Partner of German Center for Diabetes Research)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Microfluidic Modeling of Type 2 Diabetes (Karolinska Institutet)

Director, Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases (The National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases)

Postdoctoral Scholars – Structural Biology (The University of Chicago)

Laboratory Scientific Officer/Head of Sample Processing – Type 1 Diabetes (University of Oxford)

EBPOD Fellowship – Pancreatic Cancer Analysis (European Molecular Biology Laboratory)

Postdoctoral Positions – Immunology of Diabetes (Cochin Institute)

Postdoctoral Position – Functional Genomics of Insulin Resistance (Stanford University)

Postdoctoral Fellows – Diabetes Complications & Epigenetics (St. Michael’s Hospital)

Doctoral Thesis Positions – Diabetes Research (International Helmholtz Research School for Diabetes)

Doctoral Thesis Position – Genomics of Pancreatic Cancer and Pancreatic Development (Universitatsklinikum Ulm)

Associate Professor or Professor – Biomedical Metabolics (The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center)

Postdoctoral Scholar – Glucose Homeostasis, Obesity & Type 2 Diabetes (University of California – San Francisco)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Molecular Medicine (City of Hope)

Doctoral Thesis Position – Endocrine Cell Research (Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen)

Doctoral Thesis Position – Diabetes Research (Universite Libre de Bruxelles)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Beta Cell Research (Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen – German Reserach Center for Environmental Health)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Pancreatic Cancer Research (University of New South Wales)

Pioneer Award Postdoctoral Fellowships – Pancreatic Cancer (University of Miami Miller School of Medicine)

Postdoctoral Position – Inflammation and Metabolism (Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Epigenetic Regulation of Pancreatic Beta-Cell Mass (City of Hope)

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