Dr. Peter Espenshade

Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine

Friday, September 8, 2023
12:00 Noon
Room 120 – Meyerhoff Chemistry Building
Host: Dr. Kamal Seneviratne

“Targeting Lipid Metabolism in Pancreatic Cancer”

Metabolic reprogramming is a necessary component of oncogenesis and cancer progression that solid tumors undergo when their growth outstrips local nutrient supply. The supply of lipids such as cholesterol and fatty acids is required for continued tumor cell proliferation. Sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) transcription factors control cellular lipid homeostasis by activating genes required for lipid synthesis and uptake. In this presentation, the speaker will present studies examining the requirement for the SREBP pathway and its central regulator SREBP cleavage activating protein (SCAP) in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Chemical or genetic inhibition of the SREBP pathway prevented PDAC cell and tumor growth using multiple mouse models of PDAC. Collectively, these results demonstrate that SCAP and SREBP pathway activity are essential for PDAC cell and tumor growth, identifying SCAP as a potential therapeutic target for PDAC.