Deciphering transcriptional plasticity in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma reveals alterations in sensory neuron innervation - PubMed
5 hours ago
- #pancreatic cancer
- #transcriptomics
- #sensory neurons
- Transcriptomic profiling of sensory neurons innervating the pancreas and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) reveals shifts in neuronal populations.
- Neurofilament-containing neurons are the predominant sensory subtype in both normal and cancer conditions, while non-peptidergic neurons are underrepresented in tumor-associated innervation.
- Differential gene expression analysis identified a unique subset of genes upregulated in sensory neurons innervating pancreatic tumors, many linked to mitochondrial activity.
- Evidence suggests extracellular vesicle-mediated RNA transfer, including tumor-derived transcripts like the Pdx1-CreERT2 transgene, as a novel mechanism of tumor-neuron interaction.
- Findings provide insights into tumor-nerve interactions, potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets, and the role of sensory neurons in PDAC progression and pain signaling.