The DOI matches its Crossref record; 59 of the 59 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Mesenchymal lineage heterogeneity underlies nonredundant functions of pancreatic cancer-associated fibroblasts
Open accessPublished version of a preprint
Abstract
Cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) heterogeneity is increasingly appreciated, but the origins and functions of distinct CAF subtypes remain poorly understood. The abundant and transcriptionally diverse CAF population in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is thought to arise from a common cell of origin, pancreatic stellate cells (PSC), with diversification resulting from cytokine and growth factor gradients within the tumor microenvironment. Here we analyzed the differentiation and function of PSCs during tumor progression in vivo. Contrary to expectations, we found that PSCs give rise to a numerically minor subset of PDAC CAFs. Targeted ablation of PSC-derived CAFs within their host tissue revealed nonredundant functions for this defined CAF population in shaping the PDAC microenvironment, including production of specific extracellular matrix components and tissue stiffness regulation. Together, these findings link stromal evolution from distinct cells of origin to transcriptional heterogeneity among PDAC CAFs and demonstrate unique functions for CAFs of a defined cellular origin. Significance: By tracking and ablating a specific CAF population, we find that a numerically minor CAF subtype from a defined cell of origin plays unique roles in establishing the pancreatic tumor microenvironment. Together with prior studies, this work suggests that mesenchymal lineage heterogeneity and signaling gradients diversify PDAC CAFs. See related commentary by Cukierman, p. 296. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 275
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“recent lineage tracing studies targeting Fabp4+ stellate cells revealed that they give rise to a minority of CAFs142,143”
From Pancreatic cancer: Advances and challenges (2023) · cites this paper as [142]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
A framework for advancing our understanding of cancer-associated fibroblasts
Sahai, E., Astsaturov, I., Cukierman, E., DeNardo, D. G., Egeblad, M., Evans, R. M., Fearon, D., Greten, F. R., Hingorani, S. R., Hunter, T., et al. (2020) · Nature Reviews Cancer · doi:10.1038/s41568-019-0238-1 · Cited by 3,863
Self-citationA global double-fluorescent Cre reporter mouse
Muzumdar, M. D., Tasic, B., Miyamichi, K., Li, L., & Luo, L. (2007) · genesis · doi:10.1002/dvg.20335 · Cited by 3,491
Olive, K. P., Jacobetz, M. A., Davidson, C. J., Gopinathan, A., McIntyre, D., Honess, D., Madhu, B., Goldgraben, M. A., Caldwell, M. E., Allard, D., et al. (2009) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1171362 · Cited by 3,170
Self-citationÖzdemir, B. C., Pentcheva-Hoang, T., Carstens, J. L., Zheng, X., Wu, C.-C., Simpson, T. R., Laklai, H., Sugimoto, H., Kahlert, C., Novitskiy, S. V., et al. (2014) · Cancer Cell · doi:10.1016/j.ccr.2014.04.005 · Cited by 2,681
Hingorani, S. R., Wang, L., Multani, A. S., Combs, C., Deramaudt, T. B., Hruban, R. H., Rustgi, A. K., Chang, S., & Tuveson, D. A. (2005) · Cancer Cell · doi:10.1016/j.ccr.2005.04.023 · Cited by 2,609
Self-citationDistinct populations of inflammatory fibroblasts and myofibroblasts in pancreatic cancer
Öhlund, D., Handly-Santana, A., Biffi, G., Elyada, E., Almeida, A. S., Ponz-Sarvise, M., Corbo, V., Oni, T. E., Hearn, S. A., Lee, E. J., et al. (2017) · Journal of Experimental Medicine · doi:10.1084/jem.20162024 · Cited by 2,590
Elyada, E., Bolisetty, M., Laise, P., Flynn, W. F., Courtois, E. T., Burkhart, R. A., Teinor, J. A., Belleau, P., Biffi, G., Lucito, M. S., et al. (2019) · Cancer Discovery · doi:10.1158/2159-8290.cd-19-0094 · Cited by 2,241
Provenzano, P. P., Cuevas, C., Chang, A. E., Goel, V. K., Von Hoff, D. D., & Hingorani, S. R. (2012) · Cancer Cell · doi:10.1016/j.ccr.2012.01.007 · Cited by 2,195
Self-citationFeig, C., Jones, J. O., Kraman, M., Wells, R. J. B., Deonarine, A., Chan, D. S., Connell, C. M., Roberts, E. W., Zhao, Q., Caballero, O. L., et al. (2013) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1320318110 · Cited by 2,100
Stromal Elements Act to Restrain, Rather Than Support, Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma
Rhim, A. D., Oberstein, P. E., Thomas, D. H., Mirek, E. T., Palermo, C. F., Sastra, S. A., Dekleva, E. N., Saunders, T., Becerra, C. P., Tattersall, I. W., et al. (2014) · Cancer Cell · doi:10.1016/j.ccr.2014.04.021 · Cited by 2,085
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 201–239 of 239
Identification of Prognostic Biomarker and Immune Infiltration of CDH23 in Acute Myeloid LeukemiaPreprint
Yang, J., Lu, F., Ma, G., Pang, Y., Zhao, Y., Sun, T., Ma, D., Ye, J., & Ji, C. (2021) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-969962/v1
Tracing back to one of the origins of immune evasion in pancreatic cancer
Henríquez, J. A., & Biffi, G. (2022) · Cancer Cell · doi:10.1016/j.ccell.2022.05.002
Kuznetsova, A. V., Попова, О. П., Анатольевич, А. Д., Ivanov, Y. V., Панченков, Д. Н., & Aa, I. (2022) · Russian Journal of Archive of Pathology · doi:10.17116/patol20228405165
Carpenter, E. S., Elhossiny, A. M., Kadiyala, P., Li, J., McGue, J. J., Griffith, B. D., Zhang, Y., Edwards, J., Nelson, S., Lima, F., et al. (2023) · doi:10.1158/2159-8290.c.6651113.v1
Carpenter, E. S., Elhossiny, A. M., Kadiyala, P., Li, J., McGue, J. J., Griffith, B. D., Zhang, Y., Edwards, J., Nelson, S., Lima, F., et al. (2023) · doi:10.1158/2159-8290.c.6651113
Calligraphy tool offers clues to the origin of pancreatic cancer
Bednar, F., & di Magliano, M. P. (2023) · Nature · doi:10.1038/d41586-023-02518-4
Mitra, P., Saha, U., Stephen, K. J., Prasad, P., Patel, A. K., Harshvardhan, B., Mondal, S. K., Kurkalang, S., Roy, S., Ghosh, A., et al. (2024) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2024.06.29.601319
Wang, Y., Apostolopoulou, H., Sun, I., Bains, A., Gibbs, D. L., Huang, S., Alliston, T. N., Maker, A. V., Tlsty, T. D., Ntranos, V., et al. (2025) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2025.07.04.663190
Roger, É., Mummey, H. M., Zimmer, E., Srinivasan, D., Härle, A., Moubri, L., Beutel, A. K., Singh, R., Ekizce, M., Melzer, M. K., et al. (2025) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2025.09.16.676458
Turan, K., Guillard, J., Storl-Desmond, M. R., Shan, L., Huang, Y.-C., Forti, K. M., & Schwörer, S. (2025) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2025.09.21.677637
Wang, Y., Apostolopoulou, H., Sun, I., Bains, A., Gibbs, D. L., Huang, S., Alliston, T. N., Maker, A. V., Tlsty, T. D., Ntranos, V., et al. (2025) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.107984
Giangreco, G., Ramsden, Z., Rullan, A., Hooper, S., Novo, D., Leitão-Castro, J., Chakravarty, P., Milan, M., Mohammadi, H., Llop, S., et al. (2025) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2025.10.23.684281
Roos-Mattila, M., Mustonen, H. K., Vähä-Koskela, M. J. V., Boyd, S., Vainionpää, S., Hwang, R. F., Puolakkainen, P. A., Joncour, V. L., Laakkonen, P. M., & Seppänen, H. E. (2025) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2025.11.04.686484
Li, W., Jihad, M., Lloyd, E. G., Mucciolo, G., Henríquez, J. A., Zaccaria, M., Cheng, P. S. W., Harish, S., Mills, S., Johnson, P. M., et al. (2025) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.64898/2025.12.05.692494
Kim, S., Leem, G., Choi, J., Koh, Y., Lee, S., Nam, S.-H., Kim, J. S., Park, C. H., Hwang, H. K., Min, K. I., et al. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.25123881
Waki, Y., Morine, Y., Noma, T., Takasu, C., Teraoku, H., Yamada, S., Saito, Y., Ikemoto, T., & Shimada, M. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.24655835
Kim, S., Leem, G., Choi, J., Koh, Y., Lee, S., Nam, S.-H., Kim, J. S., Park, C. H., Hwang, H. K., Min, K. I., et al. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26675240
Kim, S., Leem, G., Choi, J., Koh, Y., Lee, S., Nam, S.-H., Kim, J. S., Park, C. H., Hwang, H. K., Min, K. I., et al. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.25124095
Glutamine-dependent changes in fibroblast-derived extracellular matrix dictate cancer cell behavior
Guillard, J., Stradley, J., Turan, K., Storl-Desmond, M., Lin, S. C., Huang, Y.-T., Forti, K. M., Weber, C. R., & Schwörer, S. (2026) · Matrix Biology · doi:10.1016/j.matbio.2026.03.004
Role of the stromal microenvironment in PDAC and resistance to therapies
Ode, A. (2024) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/0452e0e9z98e8z47d9za007zd4b472926aab
Zhu, W., Zhao, X., Hao, W., Zhou, X., Ma, C., Chen, J., Zhao, Y., Kong, X., Du, Y., & Li, L. (2026) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0345697
Zhang, Z., Rong, W., & Chen, L. (2026) · Journal of Nanobiotechnology · doi:10.1186/s12951-026-04567-z · Cited by 3
Zhang, Y., Kadiyala, P., Yan, W., Brown, K. L., Avritt, F. R., Donahue, K. L., Procario, M. C., Okoye, J. O., Giridharan, T., Elhossiny, A. M., et al. (2026) · Cancer Immunology Research · doi:10.1158/2326-6066.cir-25-1300
Acinar-ductal metaplasia in pancreatitis and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
Zhang, X., Zhao, Y., Qin, C., Li, Z., Xie, Y., Yan, Y., Li, T., Huang, L., Shi, H., & Wang, W. (2026) · Cellular Oncology · doi:10.1007/s13402-026-01251-0
Wang, L., Xie, Z., Tang, Q., Shen, J., Li, L., Li, H., Li, J. J., Huang, J., Zhou, J., Hong, M., et al. (2026) · European Journal of Radiology · doi:10.1016/j.ejrad.2026.113075
Treffert, S. M., Heneka, Y. M., Martin, J., Gargano, A., Launhardt, L., Akilli‐Öztürk, Ö., Stanganello, E., Andrieux, G., Hoch, D., Sonnentag, S. J., et al. (2026) · Cell Death and Disease · doi:10.1038/s41419-026-09155-5
Arioka, M., & Takahashi‐Yanaga, F. (2026) · Biochemical Pharmacology · doi:10.1016/j.bcp.2026.118380
Cheng, P. S. W., Lloyd, E. G., Jihad, M., Zaccaria, M., Burgess, K., Mucciolo, G., Harish, S., Luo, W., Manansala, J. S., Li, W., et al. (2026) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.64898/2026.09.08.750042
Hawthorne, K., Eng, J. R., Tsuda, M., Worth, P. J., Fields, A. J., Daniel, C. J., Nishida, A., Pelz, C., Langer, E. M., Waugh, T., et al. (2026) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.64898/2026.09.28.754674
Ortiz, F. D. L. J., Cimmino, C., Grech, K., Huynen, M. A., van Leeuwen, F., van Zwam, M. C., van den Dries, K., Ventre, M., & Cambi, A. (2026) · Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering · doi:10.1007/s12195-026-00945-7
Masuda, A., Tsujimae, M., Ko, T., Miki, M., Okamoto, K., Ogawa, K., Kageyama, T., Tokunaga, T., Kawase, Y., Kanamaru, K., et al. (2026) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-11014749/v1
Mo, H., Han, H., O'Dwyer, M. E., Reidy, E., & Ryan, A. E. (2026) · The Journal of Physiology · doi:10.1113/jp291166
Hao, Y., Wang, Y., Du, Q., & Li, G. (2026) · Frontiers in Immunology · doi:10.3389/fimmu.2026.1971880
Yamamoto, N., Dobersch, S., Robertson, T. M., Sim, J. H., Wallace-Povirk, A., Chew, N. W., Orellana, A. E., Aggrey-Fynn, J. E., Boila, L. D., Schutter, A., et al. (2026) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.64898/2026.10.02.754697
Self-citationDemmel, M. V., Strickland, L. N., McAndrews, K. L., Turabi, K. S., Waller, A., Dash, S., Sardarni, U. K., Thosani, N. C., Viswanathan, R., & Bailey, J. M. (2026) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.64898/2026.10.06.756887
Yu, J., Yang, H., & Zhu, X. (2026) · Frontiers in Immunology · doi:10.3389/fimmu.2026.1990436
Kim, S., Galam, L., Choi, J., Park, J.-E., Kang, C. M., & Bang, S. (2024) · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · doi:10.5281/zenodo.10821762
Cancer-associated fibroblasts: origins, functional heterogeneity and therapeutic potential
Zhou, L., Tang, M., Wang, K., Wang, N., Zhang, J., Liu, K., Li, X., & Dong, Z. (2026) · Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy · doi:10.1038/s41392-026-02743-z
Metadata
- Authors
- Helms, E. J., Berry, M. W., Chaw, R. C., DuFort, C. C., Sun, D., Onate, M. K., Oon, C., Bhattacharyya, S., Sanford-Crane, H., Horton, W., Finan, J. M., Sattler, A., Makar, R., Dawson, D. W., Xia, Z., Hingorani, S. R., & Sherman, M. H.
- Affiliations
- Oregon Health & Science University (US)
- Fred Hutch Cancer Center (US)
- 1Department of Cell, Developmental & Cancer Biology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon.
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- University of Washington (US)
- Corresponding author
- Sherman, Mara H.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Cancer Discovery
- Published
- 2021-09-21
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 484-501
- ISSN
- 2159-8274 (ISSN-L)
- 2159-8290
- PMC
- PMC8831457
- OpenAlex
- W3199988150
- Cited by
- 238
- References
- 59
- Citations by year
- 2026: 41 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 52 · 2023: 54 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 8
- FWCI
- 13.57
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Cancer Discovery (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences (T32 GM071338)
- National Cancer Institute (R01 CA161112, U01 CA224193, R01 CA250917)
- U.S. Department of Defense (W81XWH-18-1-0437)
- Pew Charitable Trusts
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Pancreatic and Hepatic Oncology Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer Cells and Metastasis
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Cellular Mechanics and Interactions
- Keywords
- cancer-associated fibroblasts, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, pancreatic stellate cells, CAF heterogeneity, mesenchymal lineage, tumor microenvironment, extracellular matrix, tissue stiffness, cell of origin
- MeSH terms
- Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts, Animals, Female, Humans, Male, Pancreatic Neoplasms, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic, Mice, Mesenchymal Stem Cells
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review