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Pancreatic Stellate Cells: The Key Orchestrator of The Pancreatic Tumor Microenvironment

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Tumor Microenvironment

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1234))

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most challenging adenocarcinomas due to its hostile molecular behavior and complex tumor microenvironment. It has been recently postulated that pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs), the resident lipid-storing cells of the pancreas, are important components of the tumor microenvironment as they can transdifferentiate into highly proliferative myofibroblasts in the context of tissue injury. Targeting tumor-stromal crosstalk in the tumor microenvironment has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy against pancreatic cancer progression and metastasis. This chapter brings a broad view on the biological and pathological role of PSCs in the pancreas, activated stellate cells in the onset of tissue fibrosis, and tumor progression with particular emphasis on the bidirectional interactions between tumor cells and PSCs. Further, potential therapeutic regimens targeting activated PSCs in the pre-clinical and clinical trials are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA

    Divya Thomas & Prakash Radhakrishnan

  2. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA

    Prakash Radhakrishnan

  3. Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA

    Prakash Radhakrishnan

  4. Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA

    Prakash Radhakrishnan

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  1. Divya Thomas
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Correspondence to Prakash Radhakrishnan .

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  1. Department of Radiology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA, Department of Pathology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Alexander Birbrair

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Thomas, D., Radhakrishnan, P. (2020). Pancreatic Stellate Cells: The Key Orchestrator of The Pancreatic Tumor Microenvironment. In: Birbrair, A. (eds) Tumor Microenvironment. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1234. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37184-5_5

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