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Caleb Cheng @djcalebc.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

12/ Also very grateful to officially have my first paper out in the pancreatic cancer field! This community has been so welcoming, and I look forward to working on PDAC throughout my training and career! @pancan.bsky.social

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Caleb Cheng @djcalebc.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

11/ THANK YOU to all the many contributors to this project, collaborators, mentors, and leaders. I am so honored to have been a part of this exciting study @awaddomi.bsky.social @lyssiotislab.bsky.social Arul Chinnaiyan and Yuanyuan Qiao.

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Caleb Cheng @djcalebc.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

We show this concept in efficacy studies using xenografts, orthotopic allografts, and KPC models in which the combo of RAS-MAPK and PIKfyve inhibitors resulted in regression/cures! Thanks especially to @jenmorton.bsky.social @macleanoncology.bsky.social @cruk-si.bsky.social @uofglasgow.bsky.social

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Caleb Cheng @djcalebc.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

7/ We then found that KRAS can regulate de novo lipid synthesis through regulating genes such as FASN and ACC1 through MAPK signaling, and that KRAS-MAPK inhibition partially reverses the transcriptional and metabolic adaptation that PIKfyve inhibition elicits on PDAC cells.

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Caleb Cheng @djcalebc.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

6/ RNA-seq, metabolomics, lipidomics, and stable isotope tracing strongly corroborated these results and suggested that PIKfyve inhibition triggers an adaptive lipogenic transcriptional and metabolic program. Special thanks to Dr. Pietro Morlacchi from Agilent for their help with the lipidomics!

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Caleb Cheng @djcalebc.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

5/ To assess the metabolic effect of inhibiting PIKfyve in PDAC, we ran a metabolism-focused CRISPR screen using PIKfyve inhibition as a selective pressure. The screen strongly demonstrated that PIKfyve inhibition forces PDAC cells rely on de novo lipid biosynthesis.

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Caleb Cheng @djcalebc.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

4/ We started with a GEMM developed by Yuanyuan Qiao demonstrating that loss of Pikfyve slows PDAC development in KC/KPC models while preserving pancreas function. Using a phase 1 cleared inhibitor ESK981, we also found that PIKfyve inhibition slows PDAC development and growth.

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Caleb Cheng @djcalebc.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

3/ Here, we show that inhibiting PIKfyve slows PDAC growth and induces an adaptive lipogenesis that can be blocked by KRAS inhibition. Follow along below for more in-depth tweetorial!

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Caleb Cheng @djcalebc.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Short but very fun visit to UNC Chapel Hill! Definitely one of the most beautiful college campuses.

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