CHAPTER ONE
The Dual Role of Senescence
in Pancreatic Ductal
Adenocarcinoma
A. Porciuncula*, C. Hajdu
†
, G. David*
,1
*NYU Cancer Institute, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
†
New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
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Corresponding author: e-mail address:
[email protected]
Contents
1.Introduction 2
1.1Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: An Overview 2
1.2The Biological Relevance of Cellular Senescence 4
2.Senescent Cells in Pancreatic Cancer 6
2.1Senescence in Pancreatic Tumor Cells 6
2.2Senescence as Barrier to PDAC Progression 7
2.3Senescence Bypass in PDAC 7
2.4Epigenetic Regulation of the Senescent State in PDAC 8
2.5Senescence in Pancreatic Stellate Cells 9
3.Senescence and Inflammation in Pancreatic Cancer 10
3.1The SASP Links Senescence to Inflammation 10
3.2Senescence-Inflammation Interface in PDAC 12
4.Conclusions and Some Unanswered Questions 13
4.1Oncogenic Kras as Primary Inducer of Senescence in PDAC 13
4.2Bidirectional Reversibility of the Senescent State 13
4.3On the Pro- and Antitumorigenic Roles of Senescence 14
4.4Senescent Cell-Immune Cell Interactions 14
Acknowledgments 15
References 15
Abstract
The role of senescence as a tumor suppressor is well established; however, recent evi-
dence has revealed novel paracrine functions for senescent cells in relation to their
microenvironment, most notably protumorigenic roles in certain contexts. Senescent
cells are capable of altering the inflammatory microenvironment through the
senescence-associated secretory phenotype, which could have important conse-
quences for tumorigenesis. The role of senescent cells in a highly inflammatory cancer
like pancreatic cancer is still largely undefined, apart from the fact that senescence abro-
gation increases tumorigenesis in vivo. This review will summarize our current
Advances in Cancer Research, Volume 131 #2016 Elsevier Inc.
ISSN 0065-230X All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/bs.acr.2016.05.006
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