Targeting strategy to inhibit liver metastasis for pancreatic cancer

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K10183
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Digestive surgery
• Research Institution: Kobe University
• Principal Investigator: HORI YUICHI 神戸大学, 保健学研究科, 教授 (80248004)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 清水 一也 神戸大学, 保健学研究科, 保健学研究員 (50335353)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 膵臓がん / がん幹細胞 / 肝臓転移 / エクソソーム

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Pancreatic cancer shows an aggressive phenotype with a dismal prognosis despite of multimodal therapy. Notably, remote organ metastasis such as liver metastasis is a life-threatening problem. Previously, we have already established several human pancreatic cancer cell line (Shimizu, Hori et al.,PLoS One, 2013).In this study, we aimed to reconstruct early stage of liver metastasis by pancreatic cancer cells. First, we developed novel mouse pancreatic cancer stem cells by introducing mutated KRAS, mutated p53, and CDK4 oncogenes common in human pancreatic cancer to mouse pancreatic stem/progenitor cells. We found that micro-vesicles called as “exosome” from both mouse and human pancreatic cancer stem cells had a pivotal role in early stage of liver metastasis in vivo. These results indicate that this system might be potent strategy to inhibit liver metastasis for pancreatic cancer.

Free Research Field

膵臓外科学