Hypoxia promotes an inflammatory phenotype of fibroblasts in pancreatic cancer

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is characterized by an extensive fibroinflammatory stroma and often experiences conditions of insufficient oxygen availability or hypoxia. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) are a predominant and heterogeneous population of stromal cells within the pancreatic tumor microenvironment. Here, we uncover a previously unrecognized role for hypoxia in driving an inflammatory phenotype in PDAC CAFs. We identify hypoxia as a strong inducer of tumor IL1ɑ expression, which is required for inflammatory CAF (iCAF) formation. Notably, iCAFs preferentially reside in hypoxic regions of PDAC. Our data implicate hypoxia as a critical regulator of CAF heterogeneity in PDAC.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Sep 15, 2022
Source ID
10.1038/s41389-022-00434-2

Entities

People

  • Arvind Rao
  • Ashley M. Mello
  • Eileen S. Carpenter
  • Howard C. Crawford
  • Jinju Li
  • Katelyn L. Donahue
  • Kyoung Eun Lee
  • Marina Pasca di Magliano
  • Tenzin Ngodup
  • Yusoo Lee

Organizations

  • American Cancer Society
  • American College of Gastroenterology
  • Concern Foundation
  • Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
  • National Cancer Institute
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences
  • Swim Across America
  • United States Department of Defense
  • United States Department of Health and Human Services
  • United States Department of Veterans Affairs

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Military Logistics and Supply Chain Management
  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • Molecular and Cellular Biology