pancreatic cancer

Despite significant advances in the understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer, it continues to affect millions of people around the world. People with diabetes have an increased lifetime risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and metformin are drugs widely used to treat type 2 diabetes, and both have been associated with a reduction in the risk of pancreatic cancer.

Authors and Affiliations:

Uma equipa de investigadores do Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde da Universidade do Porto (i3S), liderada por Sónia Melo, descobriu que, em tumores pancreáticos, são as células estaminais cancerígenas que comunicam com as outras células do tumor através de vesículas extracelulares, dando-lhes ordens para que o tumor cresça, e resista à quimioterapia. O estudo, publicado na revista Gut, demonstra também que impedindo esta comunicação entre as células, o tumor não cresce.

Authors and Affiliations:

Flávia Pereira ^1,2,3,4, Anabela Ferreira ^1,2, Celso Albuquerque Reis ^3,5,6, Maria João Sousa ^1,2, Maria José Oliveira ^3,4,5 and Ana Preto ^1,2

¹ Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology (CBMA), Department of Biology, Campus de Gualtar, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal

The work recently published in the journal “Cancer Letters” by Cristina Xavier et al., in the scope of her post-doctoral research at the Cancer Drug Resistance Group, i3S, demonstrated the impact of Extracellular Vesicles released by macrophages on the response of pancreatic cancer cells to a chemotherapeutic agent. This work results from a collaboration with the Tumor and Microenvironment Interactions Group of i3S, the Experimental Pathology and Therapeutics Group of IPO-Porto and the Genetic Diversity Group of i3S.

Authors and Affiliations:

Authors and affiliations:
Joana Maia^1,2, Andreia Hanada Otake^1,3, Juliana Poças^4,5,6, Ana Sofia Carvalho⁷, Hans Christian Beck⁸, Ana Magalhães^4,5, Rune Matthiesen⁷, Maria Carolina Strano Moraes¹ and Bruno Costa-Silva¹

1-Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal

2-Graduate Program in Areas of Basic and Applied Biology, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

Authors and Affiliations:

Faleiro I^1,2,3, Apolónio JD^1,2,3, Price AJ⁴, De Mello RA^1,3, Roberto VP^1,2,3, Tabori U⁵, Castelo-Branco P^1,2,3.

1. Department of Biomedical Sciences & Medicine, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Edifício 2, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal.

2. Centre for Biomedical Research (CBMR), University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal.

3. Algarve Biomedical Center, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal.

Exosomes can be used as vehicles to deliver therapeutic siRNAs, which specifically target the mutant form of KRAS, to the pancreas inhibiting the action of this oncogene. About 70% of patients with pancreatic cancer harbour mutations in the gene KRAS. Exosomes carrying siRNA contain at their surface the CD47 protein, the "don't eat me" signal that allows the exosomes to bypass the clearance by the immune system.