TY - JOUR AU - Wiedmann, Lena AU - De Angelis Rigotti, Francesca AU - Vaquero-Siguero, Nuria AU - Donato, Elisa AU - Espinet, Elisa AU - Moll, Iris AU - Alsina-Sanchis, Elisenda AU - Bohnenberger, Hanibal AU - Fernandez-Florido, Elena AU - Mülfarth, Ronja AU - Vacca, Margherita AU - Gerwing, Jennifer AU - Conradi, Lena-Christin AU - Ströbel, Philipp AU - Trumpp, Andreas AU - Mogler, Carolin AU - Fischer, Andreas AU - Rodriguez-Vita, Juan TI - HAPLN1 potentiates peritoneal metastasis in pancreatic cancer. JO - Nature Communications VL - 14 IS - 1 SN - 2041-1723 CY - [London] PB - Nature Publishing Group UK M1 - DKFZ-2023-00816 SP - 2353 PY - 2023 N1 - #EA:A270#LA:A270# AB - Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) frequently metastasizes into the peritoneum, which contributes to poor prognosis. Metastatic spreading is promoted by cancer cell plasticity, yet its regulation by the microenvironment is incompletely understood. Here, we show that the presence of hyaluronan and proteoglycan link protein-1 (HAPLN1) in the extracellular matrix enhances tumor cell plasticity and PDAC metastasis. Bioinformatic analysis showed that HAPLN1 expression is enriched in the basal PDAC subtype and associated with worse overall patient survival. In a mouse model for peritoneal carcinomatosis, HAPLN1-induced immunomodulation favors a more permissive microenvironment, which accelerates the peritoneal spread of tumor cells. Mechanistically, HAPLN1, via upregulation of tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2), promotes TNF-mediated upregulation of Hyaluronan (HA) production, facilitating EMT, stemness, invasion and immunomodulation. Extracellular HAPLN1 modifies cancer cells and fibroblasts, rendering them more immunomodulatory. As such, we identify HAPLN1 as a prognostic marker and as a driver for peritoneal metastasis in PDAC. LB - PUB:(DE-HGF)16 C6 - pmid:37095087 DO - DOI:10.1038/s41467-023-38064-w UR - https://inrepo02.dkfz.de/record/275610 ER -