New insights into the role of adipocytes in pancreatic cancer progression: paving the way towards novel therapeutic targets

E3 ubiquitin ligase FBXW11 as a novel inflammatory biomarker is associated with immune infiltration and NF-κB pathway activation in pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer

BACKGROUND

Pancreatic cancer (pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, PDAC) is an aggressive disease with an overall poor prognosis. Pancreatitis is a major risk factor for the development of PDAC. Due to the lack of reliable and accurate biomarkers, the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of PDAC face great challenges. It is of great significance to elucidate the pathogenesis of PDAC and explore novel inflammatory biomarkers.

METHODS

We identified E3 ubiquitin ligases associated with pancreatic inflammation by combining multiple GEO datasets and UbiNet 2.0, and integrating the WGCNA algorithm and Limma R package. A risk score model for PDAC patients was established by using LASSO regression. We investigated the correlation between FBXW11 and immune cell infiltration using CIBERSORT, mMCP-counter, ImmuCellAI-mouse, QUANTISEQ, and TIMER algorithms, based on GEO, ArrayExpress, and TCGA datasets. We used Ubibrowser 2.0 to predict potential substrates for FBXW11. WikiPathway, MSigDB Hallmark, and Elsevier pathway analysis of FBXW11 key substrates were also performed using the EnrichR database. We detected protein expression through IHC, immunofluorescence, and western blot in the cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis mouse model.

RESULTS

We first identified that FBXW11 exhibited a clear tendency to gradually increase in normal, pancreatitis, and PDAC patients. The validation analysis revealed that the FBXW11 protein exhibited significantly high expression in cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis mice, with its distribution primarily observed in the cytoplasm. Simultaneously, we developed a risk model utilizing the genes associated with FBXW11 to forecast the outcome of patients with PDAC and the likelihood of pancreatitis advancing to pancreatic cancer. Functional analysis showed that FBXW11, as a novel inflammatory biomarker, had a significant positive correlation with macrophage infiltration and the NF-κB signaling pathway. Finally, the western blot assay of the NF-κB signaling pathway in pancreatic tissues demonstrated that high activation of NF-κB was correlated with high expression of FBXW11.

CONCLUSIONS

Our research not only provides evidence for FBXW11 as a novel inflammatory biomarker but also provides new insights into the research and clinical treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Intercellular crosstalk between cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts via exosomes in gastrointestinal tumors

Gastrointestinal (GI) tumors are a significant global health threat, with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Exosomes contain various biologically active molecules like nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids and can serve as messengers for intercellular communication. They play critical roles in the exchange of information between tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME). The TME consists of mesenchymal cells and components of the extracellular matrix (ECM), with fibroblasts being the most abundant cell type in the tumor mesenchyme. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are derived from normal fibroblasts and mesenchymal stem cells that are activated in the TME. CAFs can secrete exosomes to modulate cell proliferation, invasion, migration, drug resistance, and other biological processes in tumors. Additionally, tumor cells can manipulate the function and behavior of fibroblasts through direct cell-cell interactions. This review provides a summary of the intercellular crosstalk between GI tumor cells and CAFs through exosomes, along with potential underlying mechanisms.

Fateful fat: Intra-pancreatic lipids cause pancreatic cancer

In a Mendelian randomization and prospective cohort study,1 intra-pancreatic fat increases the risk of pancreatic cancer. This provides persuasive human evidence of causal relation between lipids and cancer in the pancreas, which confirms a prediction of the PANDORA hypothesis.

Obesity associated pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: Therapeutic challenges

Obesity is a prominent health issue worldwide and directly impacts pancreatic health, with obese individuals exhibiting a significant risk for increasing pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Several factors potentially explain the increased risk for the development of PDAC, including obesity-induced chronic inflammation within and outside of the pancreas, development of insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction, promotion of immune suppression within the pancreas during inflammation, pre- and malignant stages, variations in hormones levels (adiponectin, ghrelin, and leptin) produced from the adipose tissue, and acquisition of somatic mutations in tumor once- and suppressor proteins critical for pancreatic tumorigenesis. In this manuscript, we will explore the broad impact of these obesity-induced risk factors on the development and progression of PDAC, focusing on changes within the tumor microenvironment (TME) as they pertain to prevention, current therapeutic strategies, and future directions for targeting obesity management as they relate to the prevention of pancreatic tumorigenesis.