KIT researchers identify CD44 as a target in pancreatic cancer — News-Medical
Scientists at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology have identified the CD44 molecule as a potential target for new approaches to treating pancreatic cancer. As News-Medical reports, CD44 affects the behavior of cancer-associated fibroblasts — connective tissue cells that shape the tumor microenvironment.
What the study found
A pancreatic tumor is surrounded by complex tissue that includes supporting cells, blood vessels and immune cells. According to the researchers, this environment can account for up to 90% of the tumor mass. Cancer-associated fibroblasts form a dense structure resembling scar tissue, promote tumor growth and spread, and suppress the immune response. As a result, immunotherapy, which is effective for some other types of cancer, often does not work in pancreatic cancer.
In experiments using a mouse model and human cells, the scientists inactivated CD44. After this, fibroblasts produced fewer components of the extracellular matrix, released fewer cytokines and lost their ability to suppress the immune system. In the mouse model, this enabled immune cells to attack tumor cells more successfully and was accompanied by a significant reduction in tumor size.
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Prospects for therapy
KIT research group leader Professor Véronique Orian-Rousseau stated that targeted modification of fibroblasts through CD44 inactivation, rather than their destruction, could pave the way for less destructive treatment methods. KIT had previously studied the blocking of individual CD44 variants on cancer cells, which may slow disease progression. On this basis, the scientists developed a peptide targeting CD44v6, which has already been tested in a clinical trial.
The new findings indicate that blocking CD44 in the tissue surrounding the tumor may also have therapeutic potential. At the same time, further research is needed to develop a clinical application. The work was published in the journal Cell Death & Disease; researchers from TRON at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the University of Freiburg also took part.
