Evidence mapPaperPMID 41534892Full record

ArticleGut2026

Complement-secreting CAFs are associated with better prognosis in pancreatic cancer: single-cell multiomics.

Kai Chen, Yongsu Ma, Liling Huang, Pengfei Wu, Heng-Chung Kung, Bohan Yang, Jixin Zhang, Robert A Anders, Jacquelyn W Zimmerman, Qingfeng Zhu and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Gut, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Kai Chen *Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7233-5892
Yongsu Ma *Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.
Liling Huang *Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Pengfei WuDepartment of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Heng-Chung KungDepartment of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Bohan YangDepartment of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.
Jixin ZhangDepartment of Pathology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.
Robert A AndersDepartment of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Jacquelyn W ZimmermanDepartment of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Qingfeng ZhuDepartment of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Xiaodong TianDepartment of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China Yangyinmosci@bjmu.edu.cn jhe11@jhmi.edu tianxiaodong@pkufh.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0943-5161
Jin HeDepartment of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA Yangyinmosci@bjmu.edu.cn jhe11@jhmi.edu tianxiaodong@pkufh.com.
Yinmo YangDepartment of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China Yangyinmosci@bjmu.edu.cn jhe11@jhmi.edu tianxiaodong@pkufh.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-3722-2457

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAccumulating evidence has demonstrated that distinct tumour-promoting and tumour-restraining cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) subtypes coexist in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

objectiveTo develop targeted CAF therapeutic strategies by reprogramming tumour-promoting CAF subtypes.

designWe leveraged multiomics technologies to systematically identify and characterise CAF subtypes transcriptionally, epigenetically and spatially and correlate them with clinicopathological features.

resultsWe found that complement-secreting CAFs (csCAFs), initially identified by our group and inflammatory CAFs (iCAFs) share significant overlap in their transcriptional profiles and chromatin accessibility. iCAFs specifically express transcription factors from the heme and oxidative homeostasis pathway and the activator protein 1 family, which are both involved in cellular response to oxidative stress. Notably, the composition of csCAFs among all CAFs declined during pancreatic carcinogenesis, while trajectory analysis showed that csCAFs could potentially differentiate into iCAFs. Spatially resolved analysis indicated that tumour regions with a higher csCAF composition were associated with lower levels of TGF-β ligands, fewer M2 tumour-associated macrophages and increased levels of lipid mediators. Additionally, we identified a spatially defined CXCL12-CXCR4 ligand-receptor interaction between csCAFs and T cells, but in distinct patterns between different metastatic organs. Patients with a higher composition of csCAFs have significantly longer overall survival and recurrence-free survival through multiplex immunohistochemistry and bulk RNA-seq deconvolution.

conclusionOur study demonstrates that csCAFs may represent an early-stage iCAF subtype and suggests a promising strategy for reprogramming iCAFs into csCAFs.

Indexed as

Cancer-Associated FibroblastsCarcinoma, Pancreatic DuctalComplement System ProteinsPancreatic NeoplasmsHumansMultiomicsPrognosisSingle-Cell AnalysisComplement System ProteinsPANCREATIC CANCERTUMOUR MARKERS

Identifiers

PMID41534892
PMCPMC13311983

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.