Organoid-Transplant Model Systems to Study the Effects of Obesity on the Pancreatic Carcinogenesis in vivo

Decoding the obesity-cancer connection: lessons from preclinical models of pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Obesity is a metabolic state of energy excess and a risk factor for over a dozen cancer types. Because of the rising worldwide prevalence of obesity, decoding the mechanisms by which obesity promotes tumor initiation and early progression is a societal imperative and could broadly impact human health. Here, we review results from preclinical models that link obesity to cancer, using pancreatic adenocarcinoma as a paradigmatic example. We discuss how obesity drives cancer development by reprogramming the pretumor or tumor cell and its micro- and macro-environments. Specifically, we describe evidence for (1) altered cellular metabolism, (2) hormone dysregulation, (3) inflammation, and (4) microbial dysbiosis in obesity-driven pancreatic tumorigenesis, denoting variables that confound interpretation of these studies, and highlight remaining gaps in knowledge. Recent advances in preclinical modeling and emerging unbiased analytic approaches will aid in further unraveling the complex link between obesity and cancer, informing novel strategies for prevention, interception, and therapy in pancreatic adenocarcinoma and other obesity-associated cancers.

Pancreatic Organoids: A Frontier Method for Investigating Pancreatic-Related Diseases

The pancreas represents an important organ that has not been comprehensively studied in many fields. To fill this gap, many models have been generated, and traditional models have shown good performance in addressing pancreatic-related diseases, but are increasingly struggling to keep up with the need for further research due to ethical issues, genetic heterogeneity and difficult clinical translation. The new era calls for new and more reliable research models. Therefore, organoids have been proposed as a novel model for the evaluation of pancreatic-related diseases such as pancreatic malignancy, diabetes, and pancreatic cystic fibrosis. Compared with common traditional models, including 2D cell culture and gene editing mice, organoids derived from living humans or mice cause minimal harm to the donor, raise fewer ethical concerns, and reasonably address the claims of heterogeneity, which allows for the further development of pathogenesis studies and clinical trial analysis. In this review, we analyse studies on the use of pancreatic organoids in research on pancreatic-related diseases, discuss the advantages and disadvantages, and hypothesize future trends.

Modeling Obesity-Driven Pancreatic Carcinogenesis-A Review of Current In Vivo and In Vitro Models of Obesity and Pancreatic Carcinogenesis

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common pancreatic malignancy with a 5-year survival rate below 10%, thereby exhibiting the worst prognosis of all solid tumors. Increasing incidence together with a continued lack of targeted treatment options will cause PDAC to be the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the western world by 2030. Obesity belongs to the predominant risk factors for pancreatic cancer. To improve our understanding of the impact of obesity on pancreatic cancer development and progression, novel laboratory techniques have been developed. In this review, we summarize current in vitro and in vivo models of PDAC and obesity as well as an overview of a variety of models to investigate obesity-driven pancreatic carcinogenesis. We start by giving an overview on different methods to cultivate adipocytes in vitro as well as various in vivo mouse models of obesity. Moreover, established murine and human PDAC cell lines as well as organoids are summarized and the genetically engineered models of PCAC compared to xenograft models are introduced. Finally, we review published in vitro and in vivo models studying the impact of obesity on PDAC, enabling us to decipher the molecular basis of obesity-driven pancreatic carcinogenesis.

The Diverse Applications of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Organoids

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal solid malignancies. While immortalized cancer cell lines and genetically engineered murine models have increased our understanding of PDAC tumorigenesis, they do not recapitulate inter- and intra-patient heterogeneity. PDAC patient derived organoid (PDO) biobanks have overcome this hurdle, and provide an opportunity for the high throughput screening of potential new therapies. This review provides a summary of the PDAC PDO biobanks established to date, and discusses how they have advanced our understanding of PDAC biology. Looking forward, the development of coculturing techniques for specific immune or stromal cell populations will enable a better understanding of the crosstalk that occurs within the tumor microenvironment, and the impact of this crosstalk on treatment response.

Translational Research in the Era of Precision Medicine: Where We Are and Where We Will Go

The advent of Precision Medicine has globally revolutionized the approach of translational research suggesting a patient-centric vision with therapeutic choices driven by the identification of specific predictive biomarkers of response to avoid ineffective therapies and reduce adverse effects. The spread of "multi-omics" analysis and the use of sensors, together with the ability to acquire clinical, behavioral, and environmental information on a large scale, will allow the digitization of the state of health or disease of each person, and the creation of a global health management system capable of generating real-time knowledge and new opportunities for prevention and therapy in the individual person (high-definition medicine). Real world data-based translational applications represent a promising alternative to the traditional evidence-based medicine (EBM) approaches that are based on the use of randomized clinical trials to test the selected hypothesis. Multi-modality data integration is necessary for example in precision oncology where an Avatar interface allows several simulations in order to define the best therapeutic scheme for each cancer patient.

Integrate analysis of the promote function of Cell division cycle-associated protein family to pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Background: The cell division cycle-associated (CDCA) protein family plays a pivotal role in the regulation of the cell cycle during tumorigenesis and predicts the prognosis of tumors, but an analysis of these proteins in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) is still lacking. Methods: Oncomine and GEPIA were used to observe the expression and prognostic value of eight CDCAs in pan-cancer. Univariate Cox analysis of single CDCAs and multivariate Cox analysis of all eight CDCAs were performed to evaluate the integrated prognostic value of CDCAs, and the results are displayed as hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). K-M plots and receiver operating characteristics curves were used to display the predicted function and accuracy of CDCAs to determine the risk score. Annotation of CDCA-related genes, gene sets enrichment analysis (GSEA) and gene sets variation analysis (GSVA) were performed to reveal the CDCAs that impact biological processes. Results: CDCAs expression in most tumors is higher than that in normal tissues and is associated with a poor prognosis. Regarding PAAD, increased CDCA expression along with advanced PAAD tumor stage, NUF2, CDCA2, CDCA3, CDCA4 and CDCA5 expression are risk factors for poor prognosis, while CBX2 expression is a protective factor (P < 0.05). The integrated prognostic value of CDCAs in PAAD patients was validated by SurvExpress in the TCGA-PAAD cohort (P < 0.001, HR = 2.16, 95% CI = 1.41-3.3) and the ICGC-PACA cohort (P < 0.001, HR = 2.56, 95% CI = 1.73-3.79). Genetic alteration and DNA methylation of CDCAs might not affect the prognosis of PAAD patients. After comparing high- and low-risk groups separated by CDCA risk scores, the activated pathways were revealed and included the cell cycle, DNA repair, P53, MYC-targets, E2F-targets and PI3K pathways. Conclusion: CDCAs can predict the OS prognosis of PAAD patients. The cell cycle, DNA repair, E2F, P53 and PI3K signaling pathways, in which CDCAs are involved, impact the tumorigenesis of PAAD.

Organoid model: A new hope for pancreatic cancer treatment?

Pancreatic cancer is a rapidly progressing disease with a poor prognosis. We still have many questions about the pathogenesis, early diagnosis and precise treatment of this disease. Organoids, a rapidly emerging technology, can simulate the characteristics of pancreatic tumors. Using the organoid model of pancreatic cancer, we can study and explore the characteristics of pancreatic cancer, thereby effectively guiding clinical practice and improving patient prognosis. This review introduces the development of organoids, comparisons of organoids with other preclinical models and the status of organoids in basic research and clinical applications for pancreatic cancer.