Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) originates from normal pancreatic ducts where digestive juice is regularly produced. It remains unclear how PDAC can escape autodigestion by digestive enzymes. Here we show that human PDAC tumour cells use gasdermin E (GSDME), a pore-forming protein, to mediate digestive resistance. GSDME facilitates the tumour cells to express mucin 1 and mucin 13, which form a barrier to prevent chymotrypsin-mediated destruction. Inoculation of GSDME−/− PDAC cells results in subcutaneous but not orthotopic tumour formation in mice. Inhibition or knockout of mucin 1 or mucin 13 abrogates orthotopic PDAC growth in NOD-SCID mice. Mechanistically, GSDME interacts with and transports YBX1 into the nucleus where YBX1 directly promotes mucin expression. This GSDME–YBX1–mucin axis is also confirmed in patients with PDAC. These findings uncover a unique survival mechanism of PDAC cells in pancreatic microenvironments.
<p>Figure S1 related to figure 1; figure S2 related to figure 2; figure S3 related to figure 3; figure S4 related to figure 4; figure S5 related to figure 5; figure S6 related to figure 6 and supplementary experimental procedures</p>
<p>Figure S1 related to figure 1; figure S2 related to figure 2; figure S3 related to figure 3; figure S4 related to figure 4; figure S5 related to figure 5; figure S6 related to figure 6 and supplementary experimental procedures</p>
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