The stromal microenvironment endows pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors with spatially specific invasive and metastatic phenotypes

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Introduction: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play an important role in a variety of cancers. However, the heterogeneity of CAFs is poorly understood in non-functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NF-PanNETs). Profiling the heterogeneity of CAFs might reveal the causes of malignant phenotypes in NF-PanNETs.

Aim(s): In this study, we aimed to determine the heterogeneity and subtype distribution of CAFs and elucidate the role of CAFs in the progression of NF-PanNETs.

Materials and methods: We used hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Masson’s trichrome staining to analyze the stroma proportion and patterns. Immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry were performed to reveal the CAFs heterogeneity and TGF-β expression. Transcriptome expression data were conducted to identify core signaling pathways. The impact of myofibroblastic CAFs (myCAFs) on NF-PanNETs was evaluated in vitro and in vivo.

Conference:

Presenting Author: Ye Z

Authors: Ye Z, Zhou C, Xu X, Chen J, Yu X,

Keywords: nonfunctional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, TGF-β, epithelial-mesenchymal transition,