Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41401069›Full record

ArticleCell reports2025

A cell-state axis underlying colonization in carcinomas with implications for metastasis risk prediction and interception.

Jesse S Handler, Zijie Li, Rachel K Dveirin, Jessica D Lin, Weixiang Fang, Shihan Wu, James E Forsmo, Hani Goodarzi, Elana J Fertig, Reza Kalhor

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Cell reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Genomic repeats for single-cell molecular recording.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Jesse S HandlerDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Epigenetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: jesse.stone.handler@emory.edu.
Zijie LiDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Epigenetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Rachel K DveirinDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Epigenetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Jessica D LinDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Epigenetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Weixiang FangDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Epigenetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Shihan WuDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Epigenetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
James E ForsmoDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Epigenetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Hani GoodarziDepartment of Biochemistry & Biophysics and Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Arc Institute, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Elana J FertigDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Convergence Institute, Johns Hopkins Data Science and AI Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Reza KalhorDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Epigenetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Department of Medicine, and Department of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: kalhor@jhu.edu.

Funding

Wilmer Core Grant for Vision ResearchP30EY001765 · NEI · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI JEFFREY MUMM · 1985 to 2026
$22.1M
ONCOLOGY: CHEMOTHERAPY, IMMUNOLOGY, BIOLOGYT32CA009071 · NCI · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Mary Y Armanios, Nilofer S. Azad · 1985 to 2026
$12.8M
Dynamics of lineage-specific genome reorganization in gastrulation and their response to disease-associated epigenetic perturbationsU01HL156056 · NHLBI · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI KALHOR, REZA · 2020 to 2024
$3.1M
Mapping the dynamics of mouse neurogenesis in autism models using high-resolution genomic barcoding technologiesR01HG012357 · NHGRI · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI KALHOR, REZA · 2022 to 2025
$2.1M
NCI NIH HHS T32 CA009071NEI NIH HHS P30 EY001765NHGRI NIH HHS R01 HG012357NHLBI NIH HHS U01 HL156056
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Metastasis to the liver drives mortality in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), yet mechanisms of colonization remain unclear. Using genomic barcoding, we developed a clonal competition model under immune surveillance, isolating murine PDAC subclones with high or low liver-colonization potential. Combined transcriptome and chromatin-accessibility analyses revealed a distinct "metastatic-potential axis," separate from the normal-to-PDAC and classical-basal axes. We established "MetScore" as a biomarker of this axis. MetScore distinguishes metastases from primary PDAC tumors in patients, predicts outcomes beyond classical-basal classifications, and generalizes across carcinoma subtypes, suggesting conserved colonization mechanisms. High-MetScore PDAC cells preferentially occupy immune cell-enriched niches, suggesting they remodel the metastatic microenvironment. Functional screening identified c-Fos as a positive mediator of colonization and a candidate anti-metastatic target. Collectively, we identify a cell-state axis underpinning PDAC liver colonization, introduce MetScore as a broadly applicable biomarker, and nominate actionable targets for peri-operative therapeutic intervention.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Pancreatic DuctalLiver NeoplasmsPancreatic NeoplasmsAnimalsBiomarkers, TumorCell Line, TumorGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticHumansMiceNeoplasm MetastasisProto-Oncogene Proteins c-fosTumor MicroenvironmentBiomarkers, TumorProto-Oncogene Proteins c-foscarcinoma metastasis pathwaysc-FosCP: Cancerintratumoral heterogeneitylineage barcodingmetastasis biomarkermetastatic potentialpancreatic cancerPDAC metastasistumor cell fatetumor microenvironment

Identifiers

PMID41401069
PMCPMC12831586

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.