This “master gene” may be driving pancreatic cancer’s spread
Why it matters: This discovery could lead to new treatments for pancreatic cancer metastasis by targeting its epigenetic control system.
- Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists discovered that the KLF5 gene fuels pancreatic cancer growth and invasion by reshaping DNA organization and chemical modifications, rather than altering the DNA sequence itself.
- Andrew Feinberg, M.D., highlights that epigenetic alterations are an underappreciated major route for cancer metastasis, emphasizing that even small increases in KLF5 activity significantly boost cancer cell spread.
- CRISPR gene-editing technology was used to systematically silence genes, revealing KLF5 had the strongest effect on promoting the growth and spread of metastatic cancer cells, with higher activity observed in metastatic tumors of 10 out of 13 patient samples.
Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have identified KLF5 as a "master gene" driving pancreatic cancer's spread, not through DNA mutation, but by epigenetically rewiring gene activity. This discovery, building on earlier work showing widespread epigenetic changes in primary tumors, opens new avenues for treatment by targeting cancer's control system.
