B. Durden

Diet induced hyperlipidemia confers resistance to standard therapy in pancreatic cancer by selecting for "tumor protective" microbial metabolites and treatment refractory cells.

This study shows that a high-fat diet in pancreatic cancer mice increases resistance to chemotherapy by promoting microbial metabolites like queuosine, which protect tumors through PRDX1 upregulation, and this resistance can be reversed by S-adenosyl methionine.

Stroma secreted IL6 selects for stem-like population and alters pancreatic tumor microenvironment by reprogramming metabolic pathways

This study shows that stromal IL6 promotes stem-like cells and metabolic reprogramming in pancreatic tumors, creating an immune-evasive microenvironment that can be targeted to improve checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

Hypoxia driven oncometabolite L-2HG maintains "stemness"-differentiation balance and facilitates immune suppression in pancreatic cancer

This study shows hypoxia drives L-2HG production in pancreatic tumors, maintaining stemness-differentiation balance and promoting immune suppression, with LDH inhibition reversing these effects.