The role of Eps8 in regulating pancreatic cancer invasion

恶性细胞的局部扩散（肿瘤侵袭）是癌症发生和发展的基础。胰腺腺癌（PAC）是所有癌症中最糟糕的结果之一；只有3%的患者能存活3年，50%的患者在6个月内死亡。不到20%的患者适合手术治疗，这是因为，当PAC被诊断出来时，它已经扩散到邻近组织，使得手术无法进行。我们和其他人已经证明，蛋白质Eps8和整合素v6在许多不同的癌症类型中上调，包括PAC。最近，我们已经证明Eps8和v6在调节胰腺癌细胞运动方面存在联系，尽管我们尚未确定控制侵袭过程的机制。本研究的目的是确定这两种蛋白如何相互作用以促进PAC细胞运动。了解这一过程将对肿瘤细胞侵袭生物学有重要的见解，并可能发现治疗和/或预防PAC的新靶点

The spread of malignant cells locally (tumour invasion) is fundamental to cancer development and progression. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) has one of the worst outcomes of any cancer; only 3% of patients survive for 3 years, and 50% of patients die within 6 months. Less than 20% of patients are suitable for surgical treatment, and this is because, by the time that PAC is diagnosed, it has spread into adjacent tissues, making surgery impossible. We, and others, have shown that the proteins Eps8 and integrin v 6 are upregulated in a number of different cancer types, including PAC. More recently, we have shown a link between Eps8 and v 6 in regulating the movement of pancreatic cancer cells, although we have not yet identified the mechanism(s) controlling the invasive process. The aim of this study is to determine how the two proteins interact to promote PAC cell movement. Understanding this process will give crucial insight into the biology of tumour cell invasion, and may uncover novel targets for the treatment and/or prevention of PAC