Grant: Project Grant

Pancreatic cancer is a very deadly type of cancer that is difficult to treat. Most people with this cancer do not survive very long, and there is a lack of effective treatments available. It is clear that clinicians and researchers still have much to learn about what triggers pancreatic cancers to develop and why the disease is so aggressive. Our research team has discovered that when a protein called INPP4B is at high levels in pancreatic cancer cells, patients are more likely to have shorter survival times. We have also discovered that INPP4B can influence lysosomes in pancreatic cancer cells. Recent studies show that overactive lysosomes can make cancer cells more aggressive and resistant to chemotherapy. When we experimentally increase INPP4B levels in pancreatic cancer cells they grow faster, move faster and they do not die when treated with chemotherapy. These features highlight that INPP4B may make pancreatic cancer more aggressive. Our studies aim to answer the following question: Can blockade of INPP4B or its functions (e.g. lysosome activation) make pancreatic cells grow slower, move slower and die when treated with drugs. We believe that our studies of INPP4B can teach us more about pancreatic cancer cells, and perhaps how to kill them more effectively.