Pancreatic cancer is more prevalent in older individuals and often carries a poorer prognosis for them. The relationship between the microenvironment and pancreatic cancer is multifactorial, and age-related changes in nonmalignant cells in the tumor microenvironment may play a key role in promoting cancer aggressiveness. Because fibroblasts have profound impacts on pancreatic cancer progression, we investigated whether age-related changes in pancreatic fibroblasts influence cancer growth and metastasis. Proteomics analysis revealed that aged fibroblasts secrete different factors than young fibroblasts, including increased growth/differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15). Treating young mice with GDF-15 enhanced tumor growth, whereas aged GDF-15 knockout mice showed reduced tumor growth. GDF-15 activated AKT, rendering tumors sensitive to AKT inhibition in an aged but not young microenvironment. These data provide evidence for how aging alters pancreatic fibroblasts and promotes tumor progression, providing potential therapeutic targets and avenues for studying pancreatic cancer while accounting for the effects of aging. Significance: Aged pancreatic fibroblasts secrete GDF-15 and activate AKT signaling to promote pancreatic cancer growth, highlighting the critical role of aging-mediated changes in the pancreatic cancer microenvironment in driving tumor progression. See related commentary by Isaacson et al., p. 1185

Melanoma is an aggressive form of skin cancer that is often characterized by activating mutations in the Mitogen-Activated Protein (MAP) kinase pathway, causing hyperproliferation of the cancer cells. Thus, inhibitors targeting this pathway were developed. These inhibitors are initially very effective, but the occurrence of resistance eventually leads to a failure of the therapy and is the major obstacle for clinical success. Therefore, investigating the mechanisms causing resistance and discovering ways to overcome them is essential for the success of therapy. Here, we observed that treatment of melanoma cells with the B-Raf Proto-Oncogene, Serine/Threonine Kinase (BRAF) inhibitor vemurafenib caused an increased cell surface expression and activation of human epidermal growth factor receptor 3 (HER3) by shed ligands. HER3 promoted the activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) resulting in upregulation of the STAT3 target gene SRY-Box Transcription Factor 2 (SOX2) and survival of the cancer cells. Pharmacological blocking of HER led to a diminished STAT3 activation and increased sensitivity toward vemurafenib. Moreover, HER blocking sensitized vemurafenib-resistant cells to drug treatment. We conclude that the inhibition of the STAT3 upstream regulator HER might help to overcome melanoma therapy resistance toward targeted therapies.

The mechanisms of adaptive and acquired drug resistance in tumors are not completely understood. So far, gene amplifications or mutations, leading to the reactivation of the MAPK or PI3K pathways have been described. In this study, we used two different methods to generate human melanoblasts: (1) via differentiation from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and (2) via dedifferentiation from melanocytes. The melanoblast transcriptomes were then compared to the transcriptome of MAPK inhibitor-resistant melanoma cells. We observed that the expression of genes associated with cell cycle control, DNA damage control, metabolism, and cancer was altered in both melanoblast populations and in both adaptive and acquired resistant melanoma samples, compared to drug-sensitive samples. However, genes involved in antigen presentation and cellular movement were only regulated in the melanoblast populations and in the acquired resistant melanoma samples, compared to the drug-sensitive samples. Moreover, melanocyte-derived melanoblasts and adaptive resistant melanoma samples were characterized by different expression levels of certain transcription factors or genes involved in the CDK5 pathway. In conclusion, we show here that in vitro models of human melanoblasts are very important tools to comprehend the expression profiles of drug-resistant melanoma.

There is evidence that cancer-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) have nearby and distant effects in the body. In order to reach distant sites, EVs need to travel through the blood stream and organs where they encounter a hostile environment in the form or phagocytic cells. However, the stability and homeostasis in the blood circulation and in the tumor microenvironment are not well understood. Phagocytosis is an important mechanism for the clearance of apoptotic and necrotic cells. As exosomes (small EV) express “eat-me” signals such as phosphatidyl-serine, it is likely that they are cleared similar to dead cells. Here we discuss measures that cancer cells have developed to protect their EVs from rapid depletion. The expression of “don’t eat me” signals such as CD47 and CD24 on the tumor cell surface and in released exosomes is of vital importance. We will focus on the role of the CD24-Siglec-10 binding axis as a stop signal at the interface between tumor cells and phagocytic cells. Extending the lifetime of EVs is essential for the cancer to achieve systemic immune suppression and to prepare metastatic niches for spreading. Keywords: CD24, CD47, Extracellular vesicles, Siglecs, carbohydrates, phagocytosis

Melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer and highly lethal at advanced stages due to its high tumorigenicity and metastatic capacity. Changing the phenotype of cancer cells from one lineage to another, a process called transdifferentiation, leads to tumor cell reversion, which goes along with a drastic reduction of their tumorigenicity. Via ectopic overexpression of four neuronal transcription factors, we transdifferentiated melanoma cells into neuron-like cells expressing neuronal markers and showing a neuron-like morphology. Moreover, the tumorigenic and metastatic potential of transdifferentiated cells in vitro and in vivo was significantly reduced. Transdifferentiated cells were also more sensitive to radiotherapy compared with their parental counterparts. We conclude that transdifferentiation of cancer cells into terminally differentiated neuron-like cells might represent a prospective new therapeutic approach for the treatment of melanoma.