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Updated: May 11, 2025

Studying Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cell Characteristics for Developing New Treatment Strategies
Published on: June 20, 2015
Cancer stem cells-derived exosomal TSPAN8 enhances non-stem cancer cells stemness and promotes malignant progression
Xiaoyi Yang1,2, Rujiao Liu3,4, Juan Jin3,4
1Department of Oncology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Abstract:
Cancer stem cells (CSC) play a crucial role in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) progression and therapeutic resistance. However, the underlying mechanisms and potential targeted treatment strategies remain poorly understood. In this study, we employed single-cell RNA sequencing and exosomal profiling, identifying TSPAN8-enriched exosomes secreted by CSC, which are associated with poor survival rates in PDAC patients. They enhanced stemness in the surrounding non-stem cancer cells (NSCC) by activating the Sonic Hedgehog (Hh) signalling pathway. This exosomal TSPAN8-Hh signalling axis significantly increases the clonogenic ability, invasiveness, and chemoresistance of PDAC cells. Furthermore, TSPAN8-enriched exosomes promoted a higher stem cell frequency, tumourigenicity, and tumour growth rate in vivo, confirming their critical roles in PDAC malignant progression. Our findings underscore the importance of TSPAN8-enriched exosomes for CSC-NSCC communication during PDAC progression.
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