Cancer Biology Commons^™

Fibroblast Heterogeneity In Pancreatic Cancer Immunity, Josephine Darpolor

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Fibroblasts are a unique cell type defined by their mesenchymal phenotype and exclusion from epithelial, immune, and endothelial cell subsets. Although well studied in wound healing, cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are incredibly heterogeneous, leading to contradictions as to the roles CAFs play in the tumor microenvironment (TME). CAFs were thought to be a barrier to treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, general stromal targeting strategies have largely failed in the clinic likely due to the heterogeneity of CAFs in the TME. Therefore, our groups and others have worked to unravel the heterogeneity of CAFs in PDAC. In the works …