A study by the research group on Molecular Mechanisms of Tumorigenesis of the Municipal Institute for Medical Research (IMIM-Hospital del Mar), a research centre attached to UPF, together with researchers of the Department of Experimental and Health Sciences (CEXS) and in collaboration with other Spanish and European institutions, has identified a new molecular mechanism related to the proliferation and invasion of tumour cells in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the most common and lethal type of pancreatic cancer (90% of cases), ranked in fourth position among causes of death from cancer in the world.

In this study, just published in the journal Gastroenterology, the researchers have discovered a new tPA receptor: a protein called Galectin-1, also expressed at high levels in pancreatic tumours.

Tissue plasminogen activator or tPA is a protein that is secreted naturally by blood vessel cells in response to clot formation, contributing to the dissolution of the clot. However, when tPA production is altered, this protein can also exert damaging effects on our organism.

Previous studies by this research group had described that while tPA is absent in healthy pancreatic cells, the protein is present at high levels in tumour cells of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, where it plays an important role in proliferation, migration and cell invasion.

The study concludes that Galectin-1 as a tPA receptor is a new molecular mechanism by which tPA would send proliferative and invasive signals both to pancreatic tumour cells and to the fibroblasts surrounding them, thus contributing to tumour progression.

Following the identification of this new mechanism, Galectin-1 could constitute a new therapeutic target in this aggressive tumour.

Reference Work:

Oriol Roda, Elena Ortiz-Zapater, Neus Martínez-Bosch, Ricardo Gutiérrez-Gallego, Miquel Vila-Perelló, Coral Ampurdanés, Hans-Joachim Gabius, Sabine André, David Andreu, Francisco X Real and Pilar Navarro (2009), "Galectin-1 Is a Novel Functional Receptor for Tissue Plasminogen Activator in Pancreatic Cancer" Gastroenterology,  136(4):1379-1390.