| First Author | Demir IE | Year | 2017 |
| Journal | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A | Volume | 114 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | E85-E94 |
| PubMed ID | 27986950 | Mgi Jnum | J:239388 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5828679 | Doi | 10.1073/pnas.1606909114 |
| Citation | Demir IE, et al. (2017) Early pancreatic cancer lesions suppress pain through CXCL12-mediated chemoattraction of Schwann cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 114(1):E85-E94 |
| abstractText | Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells (PCC) have an exceptional propensity to metastasize early into intratumoral, chemokine-secreting nerves. However, we hypothesized the opposite process, that precancerous pancreatic cells secrete chemokines that chemoattract Schwann cells (SC) of nerves and thus induce ready-to-use routes of dissemination in early carcinogenesis. Here we show a peculiar role for the chemokine CXCL12 secreted in early PDAC and for its receptors CXCR4/CXCR7 on SC in the initiation of neural invasion in the cancer precursor stage and the resulting delay in the onset of PDAC-associated pain. SC exhibited cancer- or hypoxia-induced CXCR4/CXCR7 expression in vivo and in vitro and migrated toward CXCL12-expressing PCC. Glia-specific depletion of CXCR4/CXCR7 in mice abrogated the chemoattraction of SC to PCC. PDAC mice with pancreas-specific CXCL12 depletion exhibited diminished SC chemoattraction to pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia and increased abdominal hypersensitivity caused by augmented spinal astroglial and microglial activity. In PDAC patients, reduced CXCR4/CXCR7 expression in nerves correlated with increased pain. Mechanistically, upon CXCL12 exposure, SC down-regulated the expression of several pain-associated targets. Therefore, PDAC-derived CXCL12 seems to induce tumor infiltration by SC during early carcinogenesis and to attenuate pain, possibly resulting in delayed diagnosis in PDAC. |
