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IMAGE: The scientists found elevated levels of cell drinking, or macropinocytosis (green) in the stromal cells exposed to a low-nutrient environment (right), compared to normal nutrient levels that surround healthy tissue. view more
Credit: Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute demonstrated for the first time that blocking cell drinking, or macropinocytosis, in the thick tissue surrounding a pancreatic tumor slowed tumor growth providing more evidence that macropinocytosis is a driver of pancreatic cancer growth and is an important therapeutic target. The study was published in Now that we know that macropinocytosis is revved up in both pancreatic cancer cells and the surrounding fibrotic tissue, blocking the process might provide a double whammy to pancreatic tumors, says Cosimo Commisso, Ph.D., associate professor and co-director of the Cell and Molecular Biology of C