Journal: Journal of Clinical and Translational Hepatology
Article Title: IL1RA + Myeloid-derived Suppressor Cells Activate Epithelial-mesenchymal Transition to Facilitate Lymphatic and Hepatic Metastasis in Pancreatic Ductal Carcinoma
doi: 10.14218/JCTH.2025.00416
Figure Lengend Snippet: (A) Schematic illustration of IL1RN + MDSC–PDAC co-culture system. (B) Transwell migration assays in PANC-1 and ASPC-1 cells treated with normal medium (Control), IL1RA + MDSC-conditioned medium (IL1RA + MDSC CM), or IL1RA + MDSC CM + Axitinib. Scale bar = 50 µm. (C) Western blot analysis of EMT markers (N-cadherin, E-cadherin, ZO-1, Claudin-1) in PANC-1 cells under treatments identical to (B); β-actin was detected as a control. Grayscale was determined using ImageJ. (D) Relative expression of stemness-related mRNA after treatment with IL1RA + MDSC CM or IL1RA + MDSC CM + Axitinib. (E) Representative images of subcutaneous tumors in BALB/c nude mice from the PDX model: Group 1 (Control, tumor tissue only); Group 2 (tumor tissue co-implanted with IL1RN + MDSCs); Group 3 (tumor tissue co-implanted with IL1RN + MDSCs + Axitinib). (F) Excised tumor tissues from (E). (G, H) Tumor weights (G) and volumes (H) from the mouse model presented as bar graphs. (I) Representative H&E staining images of mouse pancreatic tumor tissues. Scale bar = 100 µm. Data are represented as mean ± SD of three independent biological replicates in (B) and four independent replicates in (F and G). Statistical significance was determined by one-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s post-hoc test: ns p ≥ 0.05; * p < 0.05; *** p < 0.001; **** p < 0.0001. PDAC, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; MDSCs, myeloid-derived suppressor cells.
Article Snippet: Primary antibodies included CD11b (Abcam, Cambridge, UK), CD68 (Proteintech, Wuhan, China), MPO (Abcam), IL1RA (Proteintech), and VEGFA (Proteintech).
Techniques: Co-Culture Assay, Migration, Control, Western Blot, Expressing, Staining, Derivative Assay