Abstract 2979: Pancreatic cancer cells upregulate LPAR4 in response to isolation stress to create a fibronectin-rich extracellular matrix niche and promote tumor initiation

Abstract Tumor initiation is an inefficient process in which tumor cells must develop cell-autonomous mechanisms to survive harsh microenvironments, establish colonies, and thereby overcome “isolation stress.” We report that pancreatic cancer cells transiently upregulate lysophosphatidic acid receptor 4 (LPAR4), a G-protein coupled receptor, in response to microenvironmental stress or chemotherapy, which promotes stress tolerance, drug resistance, and tumor initiation. Even without exogenous LPA, LPAR4 drives the expression of a subset of extracellular matrix (ECM) genes via an AKT/CREB axis, including fibronectin and versican, which are established drivers of cancer stemness. The upregulation of fibronectin is indispensable for LPAR4-induced tumor initiation in vivo and anchorage-independent growth in vitro. Furthermore, the ligation of this fibronectin-containing ECM created by LPAR4-positive cells via integrins α5β1 or αvβ3 can transfer cancer stemness and stress tolerance to LPAR4-negative cells by activating Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP). Our findings reveal that in response to isolation stress, pancreatic tumor cells that upregulate LPAR4 can autonomously generate a fibronectin-enriched ECM niche and thereby initiate tumor formation. Citation Format: Chengsheng Wu, Taha Rakhshandehroo, Hiromi I. Wettersten, Alejandro Campos, Tami Von Schalscha, Shashi Jain, Ziqi Yu, Jiali Tan, Evangeline Mose, Betzaira G. Childers, Andrew M. Lowy, Sara M. Weis, David A. Cheresh. Pancreatic cancer cells upregulate LPAR4 in response to isolation stress to create a fibronectin-rich extracellular matrix niche and promote tumor initiation [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 2979.