Abstract PR007: Pancreatic cancer cachexia is mediated by tumor-derived PTHrP
Authors: Pitarresi Jason 
Published: November 2024

Purpose: Our prior work has established that metastasis is initiated by PTHrP-driven mechanisms in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). PTHLH (the gene encoding the PTHrP protein) is directly adjacent to and co-amplified along with KRAS, the major oncogenic driver in PDAC patients. The KRAS-PTHLH amplicon is a marker of the highly aggressive squamous/quasi-mesenchymal/basal-like PDAC patient subtypes, is associated with increases in metastasis and cancer cachexia, and correlates with decreased overall patient survival. We have deleted Pthlh in the autochthonous Kras- and Tp53-driven pancreatic cancer mouse model (i.e. KPC mice) and found that the resulting KPC-Pthlh LoxP mice (herein KPC-PthrpcKO) live nearly twice as long as KPC controls. Intriguingly, recent evidence has emerged for PTHrP’s role in cachexia-associated adipose tissue wasting and we posit that the dramatic survival extension in KPC-PthrpcKO mice may be due to reduced cachexia. Results: In PDAC patients, PTHrP is co-amplified along with KRAS and correlates with significantly decreased overall survival. We generated KPC-PthrpcKO mice and showed that they have reduced tumor burden and dramatically increased overall survival relative to KPC controls. In parallel experiments, we treated mice with an anti-PTHrP neutralizing monoclonal antibody, which similarly extended survival. Upon further analysis, we observed that the overall body condition of KPC-PthrpcKO mice (and anti- PTHrP treated KPC mice) was greatly improved, with less loss of adipose and muscle tissue. Mechanistic studies revealed that tumor cell-derived PTHrP signaling to adipocytes in white adipose tissue depots mediates cachexia. Specifically, we found that adipose tissue wasting and lipolysis were greatly reduced upon deletion or pharmacological inhibition of PTHrP. In the same vein, RNA-seq of cachectic adipose tissue revealed that PTHrP mediates adipose wasting by turning off de novo lipogenesis (DNL), a process critical for the generation of fatty acids in adipocytes. PTHrP binds to its cognate receptor, PTH1R, on adipocytes and blocks fatty acid synthesis by turning off the essential DNL transcription factors CHREBP and SREBP, likely through a PTH1R-PKA-CREB1 signaling axis. Thus, the genetic deletion and pharmacological inhibition of PTHrP in vivo led to a profound reduction in cachexia-related adipose tissue wasting and muscle atrophy. Re-introduction of PTHrP into a PDAC cell line with low cachexia-inducing potential (and low baseline PTHrP) dramatically increased the degree of cachexia observed upon orthotopic implantation, leading to a reduction in overall survival. Therefore, PTHrP is both necessary and sufficient to induce cachexia in pancreatic cancer. Conclusions: This work has demonstrated the importance of the previously unappreciated roles of PTHrP signaling in driving pancreatic cancer cachexia and adipose tissue remodeling, and future studies will look to translate anti-PTHrP therapy into clinical trials.

Citation Format: Jason Pitarresi. Pancreatic cancer cachexia is mediated by tumor-derived PTHrP [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Tumor-body Interactions: The Roles of Micro- and Macroenvironment in Cancer; 2024 Nov 17-20; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(22_Suppl):Abstract nr PR007.