NIH R01 · 2024
Metaplastic Tuft Cells in Pancreatic Cancer
Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is the 3rd most common cause of cancer-related death in the United States. This dismal outcome is in part due to the lack of understanding of the unique pathology of PDA that includes pronounced epithelial plasticity and evolution of an extensive reactive fibroinflammatory stroma. We have discovered an unusual cell type within preneoplasia and neoplasia known as the metaplastic tuft cell (MTC), which has been proposed to act as both a tumor initiating cell and as a chemosensory cell that drives the fibroinflammatory host response. Normal tuft cells are found in normal glandular tissues and are marked by the expression of the microtubule kinase…
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