Spatially resolved analysis of TGF/BMP signalling in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma by digital pathology identifies patient subgroups with adverse outcome.

Journal: BMC cancer
Published Date: Aug 18, 2025

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Transforming Growth Factor (TGF) and Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) signalling critically influence pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) progression, with TGF-B paradoxically exerting both tumour-promoting and -suppressive effects. Parallel to this observation, the specific context-dependent, spatial dynamics of these pathways and their interaction with the tumour microenvironment (TME) remain poorly understood.

Authors

  • Konstantin Bräutigam
    Centre for Evolution and Cancer, Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom.
  • Philipp Zens
    Institute of Tissue Medicine and Pathology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
  • Stefan Reinhard
    Institute of Tissue Medicine and Pathology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
  • Jessica L Rohrbach
    Institute of Tissue Medicine and Pathology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
  • Simon J Leedham
    Gastrointestinal Stem-cell Biology Laboratory, Oxford Centre for Cancer Gene Research, Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford, UK.
  • Anna S Wenning
    Department of Visceral Surgery and Medicine, Inselspital Bern, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
  • Beat Gloor
    Department of Visceral Surgery and Medicine, Inselspital Bern, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
  • Viktor H Koelzer
    Institute of Cancer and Genomic Science, University of Birmingham, 6 Mindelsohn Way, Birmingham, B15 2SY, UK. vkoelzer@well.ox.ac.uk.
  • Martin Wartenberg
    Institute of Tissue Medicine and Pathology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.

Keywords

No keywords available for this article.

External Resources

Popular Topics
Recent Journals