A team of researchers from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic, the Institute of Experimental Biology and Medicine (CONICET) in Argentina, and the CaixaResearch Institute, has announced a significant finding in the fight against pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly forms of cancer. In a study recently published in the journal PNAS, scientists have identified the crucial role of the protein Galectin-1 in the nucleus of fibroblasts, cells that surround the tumor and are key to its aggressiveness.
Pancreatic cancer is characterized by its high mortality rate, with less than 10% of patients surviving more than five years after diagnosis. This high aggressiveness is mainly attributed to its tumor microenvironment, known as stroma, which is composed of various non-tumor cells, including fibroblasts. These cells not only promote tumor growth, but also offer resistance to existing cancer treatments.
Dr. Pilar Navarro, coordinator of the Cancer Molecular Targets Research Group at the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, emphasizes the importance of this stroma in pancreatic cancer biology, highlighting its interaction with tumor cells and protection from drug effects. Although it was already known that fibroblasts secrete Galectin-1, the new study reveals that this protein has critical functions within fibroblasts, regulating gene expression.
Among the most relevant findings, it has been discovered that Galectin-1 influences the expression of the KRAS gene, which is mutated in 90% of pancreatic cancer cases and is considered a key factor in the uncontrolled proliferation of these cells. The researchers have demonstrated that Galectin-1 is not only present in the tumor environment, but also modifies the internal functions of fibroblasts through epigenetic mechanisms, without altering DNA sequence.
With these new discoveries, the research team aims to develop more effective therapeutic strategies. Dr. Neus Martínez-Bosch, a researcher at the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, points out that approaches so far have focused on inhibiting secreted Galectin-1, but now it is crucial to also block the protein in the fibroblasts’ nuclei.
The next step in this research will be to explore therapeutic combinations that can inhibit Galectin-1 both in its extracellular and intracellular forms, a vital approach as this protein is also involved in tumor-related processes such as blood vessel formation and resistance to immunological treatments.
This study not only represents an advancement in understanding pancreatic cancer biology, but also opens up new possibilities for the development of treatments that could significantly improve patient survival.
Referrer: MiMub in Spanish
