Pancreatic cancer is recognized as one of deadliest and most challenging to treat. A key issue is that diagnosis often occurs too late, by which point metastasis has already spread throughout the body. Understanding the mechanisms of pancreatic cancer initiation is therefore an important challenge. While genetic factors such as the Kras mutation are known to play a considerable role in triggering the disease, several other factors such as the cellular microenvironment, obesity and smoking are also suspected to play role in the process.

This study focuses on development of an in-vitro 3D pancreatic acinar cell model to investigate the impact of a pancreatic cancerous steatosis niche on the initiation of the disease. The model is based on the 3D co-culture of primary acini extracted from 2 genetically engineered mouse models: one in which the Kras mutation is expressed, and the other where the Vps34 complex has been inactivated, leading to alterations in the cellular lipid behavior. Laser-assisted bioprinting is utilized to mimic the micro-organization of the acini in the exocrine pancreas. This technology enables the projection of highly concentrated microdroplets of acini into a hydrogel, which models the extracellular matrix.

What you will learn in this webinar:

We will talk about the optimizations of the in-vitro 3D model and how it can serves as a complementary tool to animal experimentation by mimicking in-vivo observations.