Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41480763›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of clinical investigation2026

NF2 loss malignantly transforms human pancreatic acinar cells and enhances cell fitness under environmental stress.

Yi Xu, Michael H Nipper, Angel A Dominguez, Chenhui He, Francis E Sharkey, Sajid Khan, Han Xu, Daohong Zhou, Lei Zheng, Yu Luan and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of clinical investigation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing 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

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

  • Update of
    2025
5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Yi XuDepartment of Cell Systems and Anatomy.
Michael H NipperDepartment of Cell Systems and Anatomy.
Angel A DominguezDepartment of Cell Systems and Anatomy.
Chenhui HeDepartment of Cell Systems and Anatomy.
Francis E SharkeyDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and.
Sajid KhanDepartment of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, The University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Han XuDepartment of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.
Daohong ZhouDepartment of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, The University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Lei ZhengDepartment of Medicine, The University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Yu LuanDepartment of Cell Systems and Anatomy.
Jun LiuDepartment of Cell Systems and Anatomy.
Pei WangDepartment of Cell Systems and Anatomy.

Funding

Cancer Biology Training ProgramT32CA148724 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER · PI Pei Wang, Feng-Chun Yang · 2011 to 2026
$3.3M
Mechanisms of pancreatic cancer initiation and progression from normal human pancreatic tissueR01CA237159 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER · PI WANG, PEI · 2020 to 2025
$1.7M
The Hippo signaling pathway in pancreatic epithelial cells orchestrate the inflammatory response R01R01DK110361 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER · PI WANG, PEI · 2017 to 2021
$1.7M
Novel model to study PDAC using normal human pancreatic tissueR21CA218968 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER · PI WANG, PEI · 2017 to 2018
$365k
Identify tumor suppressor driver genes of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomaR21CA245437 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER · PI WANG, PEI · 2020 to 2021
$360k
NCI NIH HHS R01 CA237159NCI NIH HHS R21 CA218968NCI NIH HHS R21 CA245437NCI NIH HHS T32 CA148724NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK110361
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) occurs as a complex, multifaceted event driven by the interplay of tumor-permissive genetic mutations, the nature of the cellular origin, and microenvironmental stress. In this study, using primary human pancreatic acinar 3D organoids, we performed a CRISPR-KO screen targeting 199 potential tumor suppressors curated from clinical PDAC samples. Our data revealed significant enrichment of a list of candidate genes, with neurofibromatosis type 2 associated gene (NF2) emerging as the top target. Functional validation confirmed that loss of NF2 promoted the transition of PDAC to an invasive state, potentially through extracellular matrix modulation. NF2 inactivation was found to enhance PDAC cell fitness under nutrient starvation. This adaptation not only reinforced the oncogenic state but also conferred therapeutic resistance. Additionally, we found that NF2 loss was associated with fibroblast heterogeneity and cancer-stroma communication in tumor evolution. These findings establish NF2 as a critical tumor suppressor in PDAC and uncover its role in mediating nutrient adaptation and drug resistance. Importantly, this study provides additional insights into drug resistance mechanisms and potential therapeutic targets in PDAC.

Indexed as

Acinar CellsCarcinoma, Pancreatic DuctalCell Transformation, NeoplasticNeurofibromin 2Pancreatic NeoplasmsHumansMiceTumor MicroenvironmentNeurofibromin 2CancerGastroenterologyGeneticsOncologyTherapeuticsTumor suppressors

Identifiers

PMID41480763
PMCPMC12721884

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.