title: Targeting pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma acidic microenvironment.
abstract: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the USA, accounting for ~40,000 deaths annually. The dismal prognosis for PDAC is largely due to its late diagnosis. Currently, the most sensitive diagnosis of PDAC requires invasive procedures, such as endoscopic ultrasonography, which has inherent risks and accuracy that is highly operator dependent. Here we took advantage of a general characteristic of solid tumors, the acidic microenvironment that is generated as a by-product of metabolism, to develop a novel approach of using pH (Low) Insertion Peptides (pHLIPs) for imaging of PDAC. We show that fluorescently labeled pHLIPs can localize and specifically detect PDAC in human xenografts as well as PDAC and PanIN lesions in genetically engineered mouse models. This novel approach may improve detection, differential diagnosis and staging of PDAC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Zobeida
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cruz-Monserrate
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Christina L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Roland
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Defeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Thiruvengadam
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arumugam
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moshnikova
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA.
authors.forename: Oleg A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Andreev
authors.affiliation: Physics Department, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA.
authors.forename: Yana K
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Reshetnyak
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA [2] Department of GI Medical Oncology, University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Craig D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Logsdon
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D021441:Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000556:secondary; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000378:metabolism; D010534:Peritoneal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000556:secondary; D011379:Prognosis; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides