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Mekapogu AR, Xu Z, Pothula S, Perera C, Pang T, Hosen SMZ, Damalanka V, Janetka J, Goldstein D, Pirola R, Wilson J, Apte M. HGF/c-Met pathway inhibition combined with chemotherapy increases cytotoxic T-cell infiltration and inhibits pancreatic tumour growth and metastasis. Cancer Lett 2023:216286. [PMID: 37354984 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2023.216286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 06/17/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/26/2023]
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a deadly cancer with a high mortality rate. The unique characteristics of PC, including desmoplasia and immunosuppression, have made it difficult to develop effective treatment strategies. Pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) play a crucial role in the progression of the disease by interacting with cancer cells. One of the key mediators of PSC - cancer cell interactions is the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/c-MET pathway. Using an immunocompetent in vivo model of PC as well as in vitro experiments, this study has shown that a combined approach using HGF/c-MET inhibitors to target stromal-tumour interactions and chemotherapy (gemcitabine) to target cancer cells effectively decreases tumour volume, EMT, and stemness, and importantly, eliminates metastasis. Notably, HGF/c-MET inhibition decreases TGF-β secretion by cancer cells, resulting in an increase in cytotoxic T-cell infiltration, thus contributing to cancer cell death in tumours. HGF/c-MET inhibition + chemotherapy was also found to normalise the gut microbiome and improve gut microbial diversity. These findings provide a strong platform for assessment of this triple therapy (HGF/c-MET inhibition + chemotherapy) approach in the clinical setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alpha Raj Mekapogu
- Pancreatic Research Group, South West Sydney Clinical Campuses, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Australia; Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Sydney, Australia
| | - Zhihong Xu
- Pancreatic Research Group, South West Sydney Clinical Campuses, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Australia; Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Sydney, Australia
| | - Srinivasa Pothula
- Pancreatic Research Group, South West Sydney Clinical Campuses, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Australia; Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Sydney, Australia; AbCellera, Beaconsfield, New South Wales, United Kingdom
| | - Chamini Perera
- Pancreatic Research Group, South West Sydney Clinical Campuses, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Australia; Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Sydney, Australia
| | - Tony Pang
- Pancreatic Research Group, South West Sydney Clinical Campuses, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Australia; Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Sydney, Australia; Surgical Innovations Unit, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia; Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - S M Zahid Hosen
- Pancreatic Research Group, South West Sydney Clinical Campuses, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Australia; Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Sydney, Australia
| | - Vishnu Damalanka
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University, St. Louis, USA
| | - James Janetka
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University, St. Louis, USA
| | - David Goldstein
- Pancreatic Research Group, South West Sydney Clinical Campuses, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Australia
| | - Romano Pirola
- Pancreatic Research Group, South West Sydney Clinical Campuses, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Australia
| | - Jeremy Wilson
- Pancreatic Research Group, South West Sydney Clinical Campuses, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Australia; Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Sydney, Australia
| | - Minoti Apte
- Pancreatic Research Group, South West Sydney Clinical Campuses, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Australia; Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Sydney, Australia.
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