Molecular mechanism of solitary cell infiltration in pancreatic cancer

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24790362
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Human pathology
• Research Institution: Keio University
• Principal Investigator: MASUGI Yohei 慶應義塾大学, 医学部, 助教 (90528598)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 人体病理学 / 弧在性浸潤 / 上皮間葉移行 / 膵癌 / 予後 / マイクロアレイ / SMAD3 / ITGB4

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study focuses on "Solitary cell infiltration", which is a characteristic pathological finding of pancreatic cancer cells singly infiltrating into the tissue stroma. High degree of solitary cell infiltration is known to reflect the tumor aggressiveness of pancreatic cancer. However the molecular mechanism is unclear.
Among vast number of molecules expressed in cance cells, we found the two important molecules, SMAD3 and Integrin beta 4 (ITGB4), as key player in the mechanism of solitary cell infiltration. We showed that these molecules are related to the promotion of a characteristic invasive property (EMT), and that both SMAD3 and ITGB4 are novel prognostic markers in pancreatic cancer. Our results are expected to contribute to the molecular diagnosis of tumor aggressiveness and the exploitation of novel molecular targets in clinical cancer of the pancreas.

Free Research Field

人体病理学