| 1. |
- Bhuma, Naresh, et al.
(författare)
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The effect of side chain variations on quinazoline-pyrimidine G-quadruplex DNA ligands
- 2023
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Ingår i: European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. - : Elsevier. - 0223-5234 .- 1768-3254. ; 248
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- G-quadruplex (G4) DNA structures are involved in central biological processes such as DNA replication and transcription. These DNA structures are enriched in promotor regions of oncogenes and are thus promising as novel gene silencing therapeutic targets that can be used to regulate expression of oncoproteins and in particular those that has proven hard to drug with conventional strategies. G4 DNA structures in general have a well-defined and hydrophobic binding area that also is very flat and featureless and there are ample examples of G4 ligands but their further progression towards drug development is limited. In this study, we use synthetic organic chemistry to equip a drug-like and low molecular weight central fragment with different side chains and evaluate how this affect the compound's selectivity and ability to bind and stabilize G4 DNA. Furthermore, we study the binding interactions of the compounds and connect the experimental observations with the compound's structural conformations and electrostatic potentials to understand the basis for the observed improvements. Finally, we evaluate the top candidates' ability to selectively reduce cancer cell growth in a 3D co-culture model of pancreatic cancer which show that this is a powerful approach to generate highly active and selective low molecular weight G4 ligands with a promising therapeutic window.
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| 2. |
- Boj, Sylvia F, et al.
(författare)
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Organoid models of human and mouse ductal pancreatic cancer
- 2015
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Ingår i: Cell. - : Cell press. - 0092-8674 .- 1097-4172. ; 160:1-2, s. 324-338
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies due to its late diagnosis and limited response to treatment. Tractable methods to identify and interrogate pathways involved in pancreatic tumorigenesis are urgently needed. We established organoid models from normal and neoplastic murine and human pancreas tissues. Pancreatic organoids can be rapidly generated from resected tumors and biopsies, survive cryopreservation, and exhibit ductal- and disease-stage-specific characteristics. Orthotopically transplanted neoplastic organoids recapitulate the full spectrum of tumor development by forming early-grade neoplasms that progress to locally invasive and metastatic carcinomas. Due to their ability to be genetically manipulated, organoids are a platform to probe genetic cooperation. Comprehensive transcriptional and proteomic analyses of murine pancreatic organoids revealed genes and pathways altered during disease progression. The confirmation of many of these protein changes in human tissues demonstrates that organoids are a facile model system to discover characteristics of this deadly malignancy.
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| 3. |
- Borgmästars, Emmy, et al.
(författare)
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Circulating tissue polypeptide-specific antigen in pre-diagnostic pancreatic cancer samples
- 2021
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Ingår i: Cancers. - : MDPI. - 2072-6694. ; 13:21
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Early detection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is challenging, and late diagnosis partly explains the low 5-year survival. Novel and sensitive biomarkers are needed to enable early PDAC detection and improve patient outcomes. Tissue polypeptide specific antigen (TPS) has been studied as a biomarker in PDAC diagnostics, and it has previously been shown to reflect clinical status better than the ‘golden standard’ biomarker carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) that is most widely used in the clinical setting. In this cross-sectional case-control study using pre-diagnostic plasma samples, we aim to evaluate the potential of TPS as a biomarker for early PDAC detection. Furthermore, in a subset of individuals with multiple samples available at different time points before diagnosis, a longitudinal analysis was used. We assessed plasma TPS levels using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 267 pre-diagnostic PDAC plasma samples taken up to 18.8 years before clinical PDAC diagnosis and in 320 matched healthy controls. TPS levels were also assessed in 25 samples at PDAC diagnosis. Circulating TPS levels were low both in pre-diagnostic samples of future PDAC patients and in healthy controls, whereas TPS levels at PDAC diagnosis were significantly increased (odds ratio 1.03; 95% confidence interval: 1.01–1.05) in a logistic regression model adjusted for age. In conclusion, TPS levels increase late in PDAC progression and hold no potential as a biomarker for early detection.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Borgmästars, Emmy, et al.
(författare)
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Metabolomics for early pancreatic cancer detection in plasma samples from a Swedish prospective population-based biobank
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology. - : AME Publishing Company. - 2078-6891 .- 2219-679X. ; 15:2, s. 755-767
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (pancreatic cancer) is often detected at late stages resulting in poor overall survival. To improve survival, more patients need to be diagnosed early when curative surgery is feasible. We aimed to identify circulating metabolites that could be used as early pancreatic cancer biomarkers.Methods: We performed metabolomics by liquid and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in plasma samples from 82 future pancreatic cancer patients and 82 matched healthy controls within the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Study (NSHDS). Logistic regression was used to assess univariate associations between metabolites and pancreatic cancer risk. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) logistic regression was used to design a metabolite-based risk score. We used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses to assess the discriminative performance of the metabolite-based risk score.Results: Among twelve risk-associated metabolites with a nominal P value <0.05, we defined a risk score of three metabolites [indoleacetate, 3-hydroxydecanoate (10:0-OH), and retention index (RI): 2,745.4] using LASSO. A logistic regression model containing these three metabolites, age, sex, body mass index (BMI), smoking status, sample date, fasting status, and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) yielded an internal area under curve (AUC) of 0.784 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.714–0.854] compared to 0.681 (95% CI: 0.597–0.764) for a model without these metabolites (P value =0.007). Seventeen metabolites were significantly associated with pancreatic cancer survival [false discovery rate (FDR) <0.1].Conclusions: Indoleacetate, 3-hydroxydecanoate (10:0-OH), and RI: 2,745.4 were identified as the top candidate biomarkers for early detection. However, continued efforts are warranted to determine the usefulness of these metabolites as early pancreatic cancer biomarkers.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Cumming, Joshua, 1991-
(författare)
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The identification and functional evaluation of novel cancer-associated fibroblast subtypes and matrisome proteins in pancreatic cancer
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly lethal malignancy characterized by an extensive desmoplastic stroma. The stroma is the site of intricate communication between malignant cells and their surrounding environment. This tissue microenvironment (TME) is populated by a heterogenous mixture of cell types and extracellular matrix proteins. Distinct stromal elements confer tumour-restraining or tumour-promoting influences on tumorigenesis. Characterizing stromal composition therefore represents an opportunity to identify candidates for therapeutic intervention to facilitate improved clinical outcomes. In this thesis we identify galectin-4 as an extracellular matrix protein which is upregulated in PDAC. We find that galectin-4 exerts a pro-tumorigenic influence in PDAC through promoting immune suppression, highlighting its potential as a novel therapeutic target. We subsequently provide a comprehensive characterization of mesenchymal cell diversity in PDAC including cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) which represent one of the dominant stromal cellular components. We identify inflammatory CAF (iCAF) and myofibroblastic CAF (myCAF) subtypes in addition to defining a novel interferon-response CAF (ifCAF) subtype. In addition, we demonstrate that pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) are capable of forming iCAFs, myCAFs and ifCAFs in response to tumour-derived signals using an organoid-based co-culture model and define biological pathways regulating CAF subtype formation. We then perform a high-throughput drug-screen using this co-culture model to identify compounds which can suppress tumour growth indirectly through modifying CAFs. One such compound is GNF-5 which we show can suppress cancer cell proliferation indirectly through manipulating CAF phenotype. Taken together, this thesis augments our understanding of the composition of the PDAC stroma and identifies potential therapeutic targets as well as developing an approach to discover drugs which yield a therapeutic benefit through targeting the PDAC stroma.
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| 8. |
- Deiana, Marco, et al.
(författare)
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A new G-quadruplex-specific photosensitizer inducing genome instability in cancer cells by triggering oxidative DNA damage and impeding replication fork progression
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nucleic Acids Research. - : Oxford University Press. - 0305-1048 .- 1362-4962. ; 51:12, s. 6264-6285
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Photodynamic therapy (PDT) ideally relies on the administration, selective accumulation and photoactivation of a photosensitizer (PS) into diseased tissues. In this context, we report a new heavy-atom-free fluorescent G-quadruplex (G4) DNA-binding PS, named DBI. We reveal by fluorescence microscopy that DBI preferentially localizes in intraluminal vesicles (ILVs), precursors of exosomes, which are key components of cancer cell proliferation. Moreover, purified exosomal DNA was recognized by a G4-specific antibody, thus highlighting the presence of such G4-forming sequences in the vesicles. Despite the absence of fluorescence signal from DBI in nuclei, light-irradiated DBI-treated cells generated reactive oxygen species (ROS), triggering a 3-fold increase of nuclear G4 foci, slowing fork progression and elevated levels of both DNA base damage, 8-oxoguanine, and double-stranded DNA breaks. Consequently, DBI was found to exert significant phototoxic effects (at nanomolar scale) toward cancer cell lines and tumor organoids. Furthermore, in vivo testing reveals that photoactivation of DBI induces not only G4 formation and DNA damage but also apoptosis in zebrafish, specifically in the area where DBI had accumulated. Collectively, this approach shows significant promise for image-guided PDT.
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| 9. |
- Erice, Oihane, et al.
(författare)
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LAMC2 regulates key transcriptional and targetable effectors to support pancreatic cancer growth
- 2023
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Ingår i: Clinical Cancer Research. - : American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). - 1078-0432 .- 1557-3265. ; 29:6, s. 1137-1154
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- PURPOSE: The identification of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) dysregulated genes may unveil novel molecular targets entering inhibitory strategies. Laminins are emerging as potential targets in PDAC given their role as diagnostic and prognostic markers. Here, we investigated the cellular, functional, and clinical relevance of LAMC2 and its regulated network, with the ultimate goal of identifying potential therapies.EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: LAMC2 expression was analyzed in PDAC tissues, a panel of human and mouse cell lines, and a genetically engineered mouse model. Genetic perturbation in 2D, 3D, and in vivo allograft and xenograft models was done. Expression profiling of a LAMC2 network was performed by RNA-sequencing, and publicly available gene expression datasets from experimental and clinical studies examined to query its human relevance. Dual inhibition of pharmacologically targetable LAMC2-regulated effectors was investigated.RESULTS: LAMC2 was consistently upregulated in human and mouse experimental models as well as in human PDAC specimens, and associated with tumor grade and survival. LAMC2 inhibition impaired cell cycle, induced apoptosis, and sensitized PDAC to MEK1/2 inhibitors (MEK1/2i). A LAMC2-regulated network was featured in PDAC, including both classical and quasi-mesenchymal subtypes, and contained downstream effectors transcriptionally shared by the KRAS signaling pathway. LAMC2 regulated a functional FOSL1-AXL axis via AKT phosphorylation. Furthermore, genetic LAMC2 or pharmacological AXL inhibition elicited a synergistic antiproliferative effect in combination with MEK1/2is that was consistent across 2D and 3D human and mouse PDAC models, including primary patient-derived organoids.CONCLUSIONS: LAMC2 is a molecular target in PDAC that regulates a transcriptional network that unveils a dual drug combination for cancer treatment.
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| 10. |
- Espona-Fiedler, Margarita, et al.
(författare)
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Overcoming therapy resistance in pancreatic cancer : new insights and future directions
- 2024
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Ingår i: Biochemical Pharmacology. - : Elsevier. - 0006-2952 .- 1356-1839. ; 229
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is predicted to become the second leading cause of cancer deaths by 2030 and this is mostly due to therapy failure. Limited treatment options and resistance to standard-of-care (SoC) therapies makes PDAC one of the cancer types with poorest prognosis and survival rates [1,2]. Pancreatic tumors are renowned for their poor response to therapeutic interventions including targeted therapies, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Herein, we review hallmarks of therapy resistance in PDAC and current strategies aiming to tackle escape mechanisms and to re-sensitize cancer cells to therapy. We will further provide insights on recent advances in the field of drug discovery, nanomedicine, and disease models that are setting the ground for future research.
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