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Cancer metabolism

Bicarbonate transport as a vulnerability in pancreatic cancer

Nature Cancer volume 3, pages 1449–1451 (2022)Cite this article

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Pancreatic ductal cells transport bicarbonate from blood to pancreatic juice. A study shows that pancreatic cancer retains SLC4A4-mediated bicarbonate import to fuel cancer growth via enhanced glycolysis and establish a pro-tumorigenic immune microenvironment. Targeting SLC4A4 mitigates acidosis and can be combined with checkpoint blockade.

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Fig. 1: Diagram of ion transport in pancreatic ductal cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cancer Immunology and Virology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA

    Li Qiang & Stephanie K. Dougan

  2. Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Li Qiang & Stephanie K. Dougan

Authors
  1. Li Qiang
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  2. Stephanie K. Dougan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephanie K. Dougan.

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Competing interests

S.K.D. receives research funding from Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Genocea and Bristol-Myers Squibb, and is a founder, science advisory board member and equity holder in Kojin.

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Qiang, L., Dougan, S.K. Bicarbonate transport as a vulnerability in pancreatic cancer. Nat Cancer 3, 1449–1451 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43018-022-00492-w

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