Cancer Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

SARS-CoV-2 infection poses a major threat to the lungs and multiple other organs, occasionally causing death. Until effective vaccines are developed to curb the pandemic, it is paramount to define the mechanisms and develop protective therapies to prevent organ dysfunction in patients with COVID-19. Individuals that develop severe manifestations have signs of dysregulated innate and adaptive immune responses. Emerging evidence implicates neutrophils and the disbalance between neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation and degradation plays a central role in the pathophysiology of inflammation, coagulopathy, organ damage, and immunothrombosis that characterize severe cases of COVID-19. Here, we discuss the evidence supporting a role for NETs in COVID-19 manifestations and present putative mechanisms, by which NETs promote tissue injury and immunothrombosis. We present therapeutic strategies, which have been successful in the treatment of immunο-inflammatory disorders and which target dysregulated NET formation or degradation, as potential approaches that may benefit patients with severe COVID-19.

Approximately one third of cancer patients die due to complexities related to cachexia. However, the mechanisms of cachexia and the potential therapeutic interventions remain poorly studied. We observed a significant positive correlation between SIRT1 expression and muscle fiber cross-sectional area in pancreatic cancer patients. Rescuing Sirt1 expression by exogenous expression or pharmacological agents reverted cancer cell–induced myotube wasting in culture conditions and mouse models. RNA-seq and follow-up analyses showed cancer cell–mediated SIRT1 loss induced NF-κB signaling in cachectic muscles that enhanced the expression of FOXO transcription factors and NADPH oxidase 4 (Nox4), a key regulator of reactive oxygen species production. Additionally, we observed a negative correlation between NOX4 expression and skeletal muscle fiber cross-sectional area in pancreatic cancer patients. Knocking out Nox4 in skeletal muscles or pharmacological blockade of Nox4 activity abrogated tumor-induced cachexia in mice. Thus, we conclude that targeting the Sirt1–Nox4 axis in muscles is an effective therapeutic intervention for mitigating pancreatic cancer–induced cachexia.

Although much is known about the underlying mechanisms of p53 activity and regulation, the factors that influence the diversity and duration of p53 responses are not well understood. Here we describe a unique mode of p53 regulation involving alternative splicing of the TP53 gene. We found that the use of an alternative 3' splice site in intron 6 generates a unique p53 isoform, dubbed p53Ψ. At the molecular level, p53Ψ is unable to bind to DNA and does not transactivate canonical p53 target genes. However, like certain p53 gain-of-function mutants, p53Ψ attenuates the expression of E-cadherin, induces expression of markers of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and enhances the motility and invasive capacity of cells through a unique mechanism involving the regulation of cyclophilin D activity, a component of the mitochondrial inner pore permeability. Hence, we propose that p53Ψ encodes a separation-of-function isoform that, although lacking canonical p53 tumor suppressor/transcriptional activities, is able to induce a prometastatic program in a transcriptionally independent manner.

BACKGROUND: This subgroup analysis of a phase 3 study compares outcomes for eribulin versus dacarbazine in patients with leiomyosarcoma. METHODS: Patients ≥18 years old with advanced liposarcoma or leiomyosarcoma, ECOG PS ≤2, and ≥2 prior treatment regimens were randomly assigned (1:1) to eribulin mesylate (1.4 mg/m² intravenously on day 1 and day 8) or dacarbazine (either 850, 1000, or 1200 mg/m² intravenously) every 21 days until disease progression. The primary end point was OS; additional end points were progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR). RESULTS: 309 Patients with leiomyosarcoma were included (eribulin, n = 157; dacarbazine, n = 152). Median age was 57 years; 42% of patients had uterine disease and 57% had nonuterine disease. Median OS was 12.7 versus 13.0 months for eribulin versus dacarbazine, respectively (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.93 [95% CI 0.71-1.20]; P = 0.57). Median PFS (2.2 vs 2.6 months, HR = 1.07 [95% CI 0.84-1.38]; P = 0.58) and ORR (5% vs 7%) were similar between eribulin- and dacarbazine-treated patients. Grade ≥3 TEAEs occurred in 69% of patients receiving eribulin and 59% of patients receiving dacarbazine. CONCLUSIONS: Efficacy of eribulin in patients with leiomyosarcoma was comparable to that of dacarbazine. Both agents had manageable safety profiles.

, Raz et al. (https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20180818) identify a subset of bone marrow-derived cells that uniquely promotes breast cancer angiogenesis and tumor growth. The existence of functional heterogeneity among stromal populations motivates further fundamental and therapeutic inquiries.

BACKGROUND: Tebentafusp, a bispecific (gp100×CD3) ImmTAC, significantly improved overall survival (OS) outcomes for HLA-A*02:01+ adult patients with untreated metastatic uveal melanoma (mUM) and showed promising survival in previously treated mUM with 1-year OS of 62% in the primary analysis of study IMCgp100-102. Here we report long-term outcomes from this phase 1/2 study in pretreated mUM. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with previously treated mUM received tebentafusp weekly intravenous at 20 µg dose 1, 30 µg dose 2 and either 54, 64, 68, or 73 µg (phase 1) or 68 µg (phase 2) dose 3+. The primary objective was overall response rate. Secondary objectives included OS and safety. OS was estimated by Kaplan-Meier methods. Association between OS and baseline covariates, on-treatment Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) response, baseline tumor biopsy and circulating-tumor DNA (ctDNA) changes were assessed. RESULTS: 146 patients were treated with tebentafusp: 19 in phase 1 and 127 in phase 2. With a median follow-up duration of 48.5 months, the median OS was 17.4 months (95% CI, 13.1 to 22.8), and the 1-year, 2-year, 3-year and 4-year OS rates were 62%, 40%, 23% and 14%, respectively. Improved survival was associated with lower ctDNA baseline levels and greater ctDNA reductions by week 9 on-treatment, with 100% 1-year, 73% 2-year and 45% 3-year OS rates for patients with ctDNA clearance. Baseline gp100 expression was not associated with survival, despite more RECIST responses among patients with higher expression. No new safety signals were reported with long-term dosing. CONCLUSIONS: This study represents the longest follow-up of a Tcell receptor bispecific to date and confirms the durable survival benefits achieved with tebentafusp in previously treated mUM with good tolerability long-term. A role for ctDNA reduction as an early indicator of clinical benefit was again suggested for patients treated with tebentafusp.

Cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL)-based cancer immunotherapies have shown great promise for inducing clinical regressions by targeting tumor-associated antigens (TAA). To expand the TAA landscape of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), we performed tandem mass spectrometry analysis of HLA class I-bound peptides from 35 PDAC patient tumors. This identified a shared HLA-A*0101 restricted peptide derived from co-transcriptional activator Vestigial-like 1 (VGLL1) as a putative TAA demonstrating overexpression in multiple tumor types and low or absent expression in essential normal tissues. Here we show that VGLL1-specific CTLs expanded from the blood of a PDAC patient could recognize and kill in an antigen-specific manner a majority of HLA-A*0101 allogeneic tumor cell lines derived not only from PDAC, but also bladder, ovarian, gastric, lung, and basal-like breast cancers. Gene expression profiling reveals VGLL1 as a member of a unique group of cancer-placenta antigens (CPA) that may constitute immunotherapeutic targets for patients with multiple cancer types.

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are meshes of DNA decorated with granular proteins that are extruded from neutrophils during immune responses to pathogens. However, excessive NET formation is negatively associated with many diseases, including cancer. NETs contain, for example, proteases, danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), and DNA. These components can act directly on the cancer cells but also affect the surrounding microenvironment, including altering the extracellular matrix and the immune response to tumors. Here, we discuss the emerging roles of NETs in cancer progression, from their ability to promote primary tumor growth and immune escape to their prometastatic effects. The potential clinical implication of targeting NETs as novel therapeutic strategies in cancer is also discussed.

In mammary gland development, normal stem cell activity occurs in the embryonic stage and postnatally. Research supports that certain breast cancers contain a small sub-population of cells that mimic stem-like activity. It is believed stem cell activation in the mutated mature human mammary tissue is what drives quiescent epithelial cells to convert to mesenchymal states initiating migration, invasion, and metastasis in breast cancer. The goal of the work reported herein was to investigate early mammary development gene expression in the postnatal pig using fine needle biopsy methods in order to establish a reliable model for human breast cancer detection. Tissue samples were collected from pig mammary glands beginning at Day 11 of age through Day 39 in order to capture early postnatal-growth gene expression. Based on the initial clustering analysis, two distinct clusters of gene expression profiles occurred before and after Day 25 of mammary development. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) ontology indicated the cellular processes that changed after Day 25, and many of these processes were implicated in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) signaling events. Gene expression in the postnatal pig was compared with the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition gene database (dbEMT) confirming the presence of EMT activity in this early developmental program. Information from this study will provide insight into early postnatal mammary gland development. In addition, mechanisms exploited by mutated mammary epithelial cells leading to cancer initiation and growth may be detected considering that mutated mammary epithelial cells can reactivate early developmental signals.

Activating KRAS mutations are a key feature of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and drive tumor initiation and progression. However, mutant KRAS by itself is weakly oncogenic. Defining the pathways that cooperate with mutant KRAS to induce tumorigenesis could identify prevention and treatment strategies. Analyzing organoids and murine and human pancreatic specimens, we found that the receptor tyrosine kinase FGFR2 was progressively upregulated in mutant KRAS-driven metaplasia, precancerous lesions, and classical PDAC. In genetic mouse models, FGFR2 inactivation impeded mutant KRAS-driven transformation of acinar cells by reducing proliferation and MAPK pathway activation. FGFR2 abrogation significantly delayed tumor formation and extended the survival of these mice. Furthermore, FGFR2 collaborated with EGFR, and dual blockade of these receptor signaling pathways significantly reduced mutant KRAS-induced precancerous lesion formation. Together, these data have uncovered a pivotal role for FGFR2 in the early phases of pancreatic tumorigenesis, paving the way for future therapeutic applications of FGFR2 inhibitors for pancreatic cancer interception. Significance: FGFR2 inhibition reduces mutant KRAS signaling, which can impair mutant KRAS-expressing pancreatic cancer precursor lesions that are prevalent in the average healthy adult and delay pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma progression.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a chronic lymphoproliferative disorder of B lymphocytes. It has an extremely variable clinical course. Some patients have a rather indolent course, whereas others are known to have a rapidly progressive disease. Most patients die from causes related to CLL that can be due to bone marrow failure, infection, or transformation to a high-grade lymphoma. Clinical stratification of CLL has revealed that a subset of patients with poor prognosis harbor cytogenetic alterations and lack mutations at the immunoglobulin locus. Therefore, the development of additional molecular biomarkers for patients at high risk for early lethality from CLL could help direct their care toward enrollment in clinical trials of promising experimental approaches such as inhibitors of BCL2 or BCR signaling or CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T cells (which have been shown to eradicate CLL in patients who have failed other approaches). In this issue, Mansouri et al. report that somatic mutations in the NFKBIE gene occur in 7% of poor prognosis patients, and this may be a common mechanism contributing to disease progression by sustaining the survival of malignant CLL cells.

Abstract Cellular plasticity is a hallmark of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) starting from the conversion of normal cells into precancerous lesions to the progression of carcinoma subtypes associated with aggressiveness and therapeutic response. We discovered that normal acinar cell differentiation, maintained by the transcription factor Pdx1, suppresses a broad gastric cell identity that is maintained in metaplasia, neoplasia, and the classical subtype of PDAC in mouse and human. We have identified the receptor tyrosine kinase Ror2 as marker of a gastric metaplasia (SPEM)-like identity in the pancreas. Ablation of Ror2 in a mouse model of pancreatic tumorigenesis promoted a switch to a gastric pit cell identity that largely persisted through progression to the classical subtype of PDAC. In both human and mouse pancreatic cancer, ROR2 activity continued to antagonize the gastric pit cell identity, strongly promoting an epithelial to mesenchymal transition, conferring resistance to KRAS inhibition, and vulnerability to AKT inhibition. Significance We discovered the receptor tyrosine kinase ROR2 as an important regulator of cellular identity in pancreatic precancerous lesions and pancreatic cancer. ROR2 drives an aggressive PDAC phenotype and confers resistance to Kras inhibitors, suggesting that targeting ROR2 will enhance sensitivity to this new generation of targeted therapies.

Abstract High-throughput CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screens are widely used to evaluate gene essentiality in cancer research. Here we introduce a probabilistic modeling framework, Analysis of CRISPR-based Essentiality (ACE), that accounts for multiple sources of variation in CRISPR-Cas9 screens and enables new statistical tests for essentiality. We show using simulations that ACE is effective at predicting both absolute and differential essentiality. When applied to publicly available data, ACE identifies known and novel candidates for genotype-specific essentiality, including RNA m 6 -A methyltransferases that exhibit enhanced essentiality in the presence of inactivating TP53 mutations. ACE provides a robust framework for identifying genes responsive to subtype-specific therapeutic targeting.

Abstract Introduction The major driver for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is oncogenic KRAS. However, adult acinar cells, a probable origin of PDAC, are largely refractory to KrasG12D-mediated oncogenic transformation. With the concomitant loss of transcription factors that regulate acinar cell differentiation, such as Pdx1 (Pancreatic and Duodenal Homeobox 1), acinar cells undergo a rapid cell identity switch, known as acinar-to-ductal metaplasia (ADM). How loss of cell identity cooperates with oncogenic Kras to induce pancreatic transformation is largely unclear. Methods To elucidate mechanisms responsible for the accelerated cellular reprogramming in KrasG12D;Pdx1f/f animals, single-cell ATAC-seq (Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin using sequencing) from frozen pancreatic bulk tissue was performed. Chromatin accessibility states were captured at early stages of carcinogenesis and correlated to RNA-seq data. Differentially regulated genes were validated by multiplex RNAscope and immunohistochemistry staining and functionally studied in pancreatic cancer cell lines. Results Single-cell ATAC-seq proved a powerful tool for defining cell-type identity, cellular reprogramming and target genes in early metaplastic transformation of pancreatic tissue. Notably, acinar cells of KrasG12D;Pdx1f/f animals as well as a proportion of metaplastic lesions in both, KrasG12D and KrasG12D;Pdx1f/f mice, showed elevated accessibility and expression of the Ror2 (Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Like Orphan Receptor 2) gene. As a receptor tyrosine kinase, Ror2 controls noncanonical Wnt signaling and other essential signaling pathways, such as PI3K/AKT or Ras-MAPK. Genetic ablation of Ror2 in a mouse model of pancreatic neoplasia resulted in a shift in ADM cell identity, enriching ADM lesions with a senescent duct cell phenotype. In PDAC, ROR2 expression correlates with the more aggressive basal-like subtype. Overexpression of ROR2 in pancreatic cancer cell lines with a classical differentiation induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, characterized by the downregulation of multiple epithelial markers and upregulation of mesenchymal genes. Knockout of ROR2 in pancreatic cancer cells significantly decreased cell proliferation. Conclusions Our in-depth sequencing data revealed that expression of KrasG12D with the concomitant loss of Pdx1 leads to vast alterations of acinar cell identity. We identified the receptor kinase Ror2 as a regulator of pancreatic cancer initiation and driver of pancreatic cancer cell aggressiveness. Citation Format: Simone Benitz, Malak Nasser, Alexander Steep, Jonathan Preall, Ujjwal Mahajan, Ian Loveless, Erick Davis, Hui-Ju Wen, Daniel Long, Michaela Louw, Samuel Zwernik, Donald Rempinski, Jacee Moore, Daniel Salas-Escabillas, Thomas Metzler, Ling Huang, Nina Steele, Ivonne Regel, Filip Bednar, Howard Crawford. Single-cell epigenomic analysis reveals an important role of the receptor kinase Ror2 in the erosion of cellular identity during pancreatic carcinogenesis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Pancreatic Cancer; 2023 Sep 27-30; Boston, Massachusetts. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(2 Suppl):Abstract nr A109.

Abstract Microbial processes regulating carbon cycling in ancient oceans remain poorly understood, yet characterizing these processes is critical for understanding early Earth biogeochemistry. Here, we investigate microbial communities associated with sinking particles regulating carbon cycling in meromictic Fayetteville Green Lake, a mid‐Proterozoic marginal ocean analog. The lake's photic zone spans oxic through sulfidic conditions, where prokaryotic photoautotrophs contribute to sinking fluxes and organotrophs mediate remineralization across redox and irradiance gradients. To characterize microbial communities in the sinking flux over time and redox condition, we sequenced 16S rRNA amplicons recovered from sediment traps throughout the lake's water column over the course of an annual photoautotroph bloom. Purple sulfur bacteria dominated deep fluxes, while cyanobacteria and green sulfur bacteria contributed variably across depths but were more abundant in suspended communities. As the bloom waned, chemoautotrophic Epsilonbacteraeota gained dominance in deeper fluxes, possibly due to niche partitioning. The shallow flux was remineralized by microbes exposed to temporally fluctuating biogeochemical conditions. Putative temporal changes in the availability and quality of organic matter and terminal electron acceptors thus promoted a succession of low‐diversity communities with few dominant hydrolytic and acidogenic clades. Unchanging conditions at depth promoted higher diversity microbial communities with niches for specialists dominated by sulfur‐metabolizing and fermentative clades. These findings improve our understanding of carbon cycling in the ancient ocean and offer insights into future shifts under climate change and meromixis in lakes.

Abstract Description An early first pregnancy reduces lifelong risk for breast cancer (BC) by ∼30%, partly due to pregnancy-induced changes to mammary immunity. Plasma cells (PCs) and memory B cells (mBCs) accumulate in the mammary gland (MG) during pregnancy and lactation. We are investigating whether pregnancy alters the B cell receptor (BCR) repertoire to enable recognition of mammary self-antigens generated during pregnancy and milk synthesis, some of which are also expressed in BC. We hypothesize that pregnancy-induced IgG antibodies (Abs) augment parity-associated mammary oncoprotection. Using single cell RNA-sequencing, we identified an enrichment of PCs and mBCs in the MGs of parous mice that do not develop mammary tumors after pregnancy, suggesting a role for these cells and Abs in oncoprotection. To explore how pregnancy alters the BCR repertoire, we sequenced BCRs from virgin and parous mouse MGs. We identified five most abundant IgG clonotypes unique to parous MGs and used their BCR sequences to synthesize recombinant pregnancy-induced IgG Abs. Immunofluorescent staining of MGs from various stages of development and tumorigenesis revealed three IgGs that bind to pregnancy-induced antigens that are also present in virgin pre-neoplastic tissue. Our results suggest that pregnancy shapes the BCR repertoire, enabling IgG production against antigens linked to early mammary tumorigenesis. We are now testing whether these recombinant IgGs can block mammary tumorigenesis in mouse models. Funding Sources Breast Cancer Research Foundation; NIH/NIA AG069727-04; NIH/NCI CA248158-04; NIH/NIA CA284630-01; CSHL-Simons Foundation Research Topic Categories Mucosal and Regional Immunology (MUC)

David Tuveson, Director of the Cancer Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, is a clinician-scientist with a longstanding interest in understanding and treating pancreatic cancer. Since developing the first mouse model of pancreatic cancer in 2002, the Tuveson lab has made a series of discoveries that shed light on the molecular drivers of this disease and provide promising therapeutic avenues for a malignancy that is notoriously challenging to treat. In collaboration with Hans Clevers, David developed the first pancreatic cancer organoids, which revolutionized the field by providing a powerful model system for basic discoveries and advancement of personalized medicine. Here, David talks to Ross Cagan about his path from chemistry student to world-renowned oncologist, highlighting how his colleagues, mentors and patient interactions shaped his research interests and unique approach to scientific discovery. As well as discussing the story behind some of his breakthroughs, he provides tips on running a lab and succeeding in or outside academia.

Melanoma that strikes the uveal cells of the eye represents about 5% of all melanoma cases. Uveal melanoma is a highly aggressive form of cancer that exhibits a propensity to metastasize to the liver. At this time there are no effective treatments for metastatic uveal melanoma and new therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. The majority of uveal melanomas are derived from early activating mutations in the G-proteins GNA11 or GNAQ. In order to further explore and identify molecular mechanisms that uveal melanoma cell lines rely upon for proliferation and survival, we will perform CRISPR/Cas9 mediated synthetic lethality screening. To accomplish this, we will generate a uveal melanoma cell line 92.1 that expresses the endonuclease Cas9 and introduce a guide RNA library into it that targets the functional domains of epigenetic regulator proteins. Thus, we will be able to determine which epigenetic regulator genes are required for the survival and proliferation of these cells by measuring which guide RNAs "drop out" over time. The guide RNAs that drop out likely disrupt essential genes that the cell relies on for growth. Cells carrying these gRNAs are consequently depleted from the culture. This will indicate that Cas9 mediated disruption of the gene targeted by that guide RNA causes cell death and will therefore identify the key dependencies of the uveal melanoma cells. We expect that the results of these experiments will reveal novel genetic mechanisms characteristic of GNAQ mutant uveal melanoma cells which could be therapeutically targeted in the future.

Abstract Introduction Reprogramming of pancreas cell fate drives development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Acinar cells, the most probable origin of pancreatic cancer, undergo a rapid cell identity switch towards a duct-like phenotype upon KrasG12D expression and when combined with pancreatitis or the loss of acinar differentiation factors. Metaplastic and neoplastic duct-like cells are heterogeneous with a proportion acquiring features reminiscent of gastric lineages. While some gastric signatures are maintained in the classical PDAC subtype, they are eroded in the more aggressive, basal-like PDAC. Since subtype identity has a major impact on prognosis and therapeutic targetability, druggable targets that regulate cellular reprogramming in pancreatic cancer can be exploited to increase sensitivity to therapy. Methods To elucidate mechanisms responsible for early reprogramming, pancreatic tissue of mice with conditional KrasG12D expression and loss of Pdx1 was analyzed by single-nucleus ATAC-seq. Expression of identified target genes was studied in precancerous lesions and PDAC by using multiplex RNAscope and IHC staining. Computational analyses of publicly available sequencing data were used to establish correlation to PDAC subtype identity. Genes were functionally studied in PDAC cell lines. Results By performing snATAC-seq and RNA-seq of early transformed pancreatic tissue, we discovered that acinar cells with the combined expression of KrasG12D and loss of Pdx1 activate expression of a gastric metaplastic gene signature accompanied by elevated levels of the receptor kinase Ror2. Ror2 is also highly expressed in distinct subpopulations of metaplastic and neoplastic cells, associated with a gastric neck cell phenotype and enhanced proliferative capacity. In contrast, Ror2Low lesions are characterized by a gastric pit cell-like and a senescent phenotype. Genetic ablation of Ror2 resulted in a shift in lesion identity, enriching those with a pit cell and senescent identity. In PDAC, we found that Ror2 anti-correlates with a similar gastric pit cell phenotype that is maintained in the classical subtype PDAC, but is strongly associated with the more aggressive basal-like subtype. Overexpression of ROR2 in human PDAC cell lines with a classical differentiation induced loss of the classical gene signature as well as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Moreover, ROR2 enforces a strong dependency on AKT signaling, causing increased vulnerability of ROR2-expressing cells to AKT inhibition, but increased resistance to the KRAS inhibitor MRTX1133. Conclusions We discovered Ror2 as a critical determinant of precancerous lesion as well as PDAC subtype identity. Its role in driving an aggressive PDAC phenotype that is inherently resistant to Kras inhibition suggests that inhibiting this receptor tyrosine kinase will enhance sensitivity to the new generation of targeted therapies. Citation Format: Simone Benitz, Alec Steep, Malak Nasser, Jonathan Preall, Ujjwal Mukund Mahajan, Holly McQuithey, Ian Loveless, Erick T. Davis, Hui-Ju Wen, Daniel W. Long, Thomas Metzler, Samuel Zwernik, Michaela Louw, Donald Rempinski, Daniel Salas-Escabillas, Sydney Brender, Linghao Song, Ling Huang, Brian K. Theisen, Zhenyu Zhang, Nina G. Steele, Ivonne Regel, Filip Bednar, Howard C. Crawford. Ror2, a Novel Key Regulator Driving Cell Fate Decisions throughout Pancreatic Carcinogenesis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Advances in Pancreatic Cancer Research; 2024 Sep 15-18; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(17 Suppl_2):Abstract nr C075.

In this issue of JEM, Recouvreux et al. (https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20200388) describe the role of nutrient sensing in the induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Glutamine-deficient pancreatic cancer cells up-regulate classic EMT regulator Slug, providing a link between nutrient stress and metastasis.