Genome Dynamics in pancreatic cancer cell plasticity

“Genome Dynamics” represents a central focus of cancer research at the University Medical Center Göttingen and investigates both, alterations of chromosomal and genomic structures and functions as well as genetic and adaptive changes of chromatin architecture and activity in cancer. The field of Epigenetics deals with changes in gene expression that are associated with DNA-methylation or alterations in the chromatin landscape.

In the context of genome dynamics our clinic focuses on mechanistic and functional implications of cellular processes linked to pancreatic cancer cell plasticity. The ability of tumor cells to change their morphology and function in response to intrinsic and extrinsic signaling cues represents a pivotal feature of aggressive pancreatic cancer cells and significantly impacts on the development and progress of the disease as well as the therapeutic response and the prognosis of pancreatic cancer patients. Importantly, the molecular processes of tumor cell plasticity are reversible and underlie highly dynamic changes of chromatin structure and gene expression. Current research activities in the Clinic of Gastroenterology and gastrointestinal Oncology aim on an improved understanding of the molecular processes that control dynamic chromatin regulation in pancreatic cancer. Moreover, our studies investigate the therapeutic potential of pharmacological approaches that target specific chromatin alterations in pancreatic cancer treatment.