Bile duct cancer, or Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), is a deadly disease with few treatments, but researchers from Nottingham and Birmingham Universities in the UK and the Chulabhorn Research Institute, in Thailand have discovered that the PRH/HHEX protein is a key driver in the disease, with increased levels affecting the response of cancer cells to therapeutic drugs. They have shown that formation of CCA is driven by alterations in the levels of the PRH protein which controls genes and signalling pathways in the body – a discovery which could allow doctors to use specific drugs to treat the cancer.
The cover image shows NanoString imaging of spatial interactions between tumour cells (green), T cells (red), and stromal cells (yellow) within the CCA tumor microenvironment. Image collected by Dr. Jingjing Gong (NanoString), Dr. Isioma Egbuniwe (histopathologist, University of Nottingham), Professor K. Gaston (University of Nottingham), and Dr. P.S. Jayaraman (University of Birmingham).
The University of Nottingham Centre for Biomolecular Sciences Nottingham, NG7 2RD
telephone: +44 (0) 115 823 1546 email: MS-CCS@nottingham.ac.uk