Muir Lab
@muirlab.bsky.social
940 followers 850 following 78 posts
https://themuirlab.org/ (Extra)Cellular Cancer Biology @UChicagoCCB
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muirlab.bsky.social
Thanks Natalie! @cssheehan.bsky.social responsible for all monthy python jokes :)
muirlab.bsky.social
Looking forward to your feedback as we continue to work this problem!
muirlab.bsky.social
Super great to work with James LaBelle’s lab on this project! And thanks to everyone involved in the study: Kay Macleod, @cjhphd.bsky.social, Alica Beutel,
@leahziolkowski.bsky.social, Mumina Sadullozoda, @patrickjonker.bsky.social, Darby Agovino, Grace Croley, @guillaumecognet.bsky.social.
muirlab.bsky.social
(3) Fortress model is insufficient to explain drug resistance in pancreatic. Tolerance (tis but a scratch) also critical to drug resistance. Will need effort on overcoming tolerance in addition to improving drug delivery to improve treatment outcomes.
muirlab.bsky.social
(2) Simple changes to culture models, like growing cells in the right nutrients, keeps cells in in vivo relevant states that we care about, like being drug resistant. Important for getting models that are predictive for things like drug discovery and for precision medicine.
muirlab.bsky.social
Implications: (1) Using standard culture models to do things like drug screens, will make apoptosis inducers look great, even though they will have limited efficacy in vivo. Could be fruitful to look at other treatment modalities that kill cells non-apoptotically.
muirlab.bsky.social
How does the TME/TIFM cause drug resistance? Apoptotic priming gets turn wayyyyy down. So, cells just don’t die from chemo or targeted therapies despite on target action. Call this the “tis but a scratch model” of drug resistance.
muirlab.bsky.social
Interestingly, we recently made a new cell culture model (TIFM) where PDAC cells are grown in the nutrients they would see IRL (elifesciences.org/articles/81289). TIFM-derived PDAC cell lines maintain the therapy resistant state! So, have a tractable model to study this state now.
muirlab.bsky.social
Why haven’t we seen this before? Well, if you keep the cancer cells in culture, after a few weeks, the cells become drug sensitive again! So, the tumor imprints a drug-resistant state that cell culture can’t maintain. Critical for chemo and targeted therapy resistance.
muirlab.bsky.social
So, how else do tumors become drug resistant? @cssheehan.bsky.social cial found even if you take pancreatic cancer cells out of the tumor and look at drug response ex vivo, the cells are drug resistant. Clearly, something else going on beyond the fortress model.
muirlab.bsky.social
But fortress model can't explain recent findings that tumors are still resistant even if you work to get the drugs in there (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32030361/) and new mass spec imaging data (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35005896/) that shows drugs getting into tumors.
muirlab.bsky.social
Know that pancreatic cancer cells are not inherently drug resistant but that tumors are. What about tumors makes them drug resistant? Longstanding hypothesis is that fibrosis limits drug delivery to tumors making them resistant. We call this the “fortress model”.
Reposted by Muir Lab
elialab.bsky.social
I am thrilled to share that I have received an ERC Starting Grant for our project SpaceMet!
I am grateful for the ERC’s commitment to ambitious early-stage research and to KU Leuven for their support!
Stay tuned, new postdoc positions coming soon!I @erc.europa.eu @kuleuvenuniversity.bsky.social
Reposted by Muir Lab
ubellackerlab.bsky.social
Hot off the presses! Was an honor to team up with Scott Dixon @stanforduniversity.bsky.social on this Nature Cancer review. We reflect on hurdles that have slowed translation of ferroptosis-directed therapies and share ideas on what it will take to bring these therapies to the clinic. rdcu.be/eBbqV
muirlab.bsky.social
Super cool and excited to read!
Reposted by Muir Lab
ubellackerlab.bsky.social
Join me in Boston October 6th for a 1-day conference on #mappingbiology to transform #cancertherapeutics. Register by September 25th to benefit from the complimentary (free) admission! Topics, speakers, and talk opportunities here: abcam.me/mappingbiolo...
@abcamofficial.bsky.social
Reposted by Muir Lab
katsufunai.bsky.social
We have an Open Rank tenure-track faculty position in the Department of Nutrition & Integrative Physiology! Looking for a new colleague interested in making the University of Utah their new home to build a metabolic research program. Please share! @uofunuip.bsky.social
Open Rank, Tenure Track Position – Metabolic Physiology - Salt Lake City, Utah job with University of Utah | 674355
The Department of Nutrition and Integrated Physiology (NUIP) at the University of Utah seeks a Tenure Track faculty member at the rank of Assistant...
jobs.sciencecareers.org
Reposted by Muir Lab
angelifriedmann.bsky.social
Fantastic meeting 🤩🤩
thank you @olzmannlab.bsky.social and Scott Dixon for the organisation and for all the colleagues and trainees that showed up and made ut such a great event!
#ferroptosis #faseb #Ros
muirlab.bsky.social
Super cool! Congratulations!
Reposted by Muir Lab
biorxiv-cancer.bsky.social
The EAAT1 aspartate/glutamate transporter is dispensable for acute myeloid leukemia cell growth and response to therapy https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.13.664609v1
Reposted by Muir Lab
lyssiotislab.bsky.social
1/ If you are in the Midwest and ❤️ metabolism, take note!

This year’s Midwest Metabolism meeting will be held jointly with the Translational Research in Mitochondrial Metabolism in Aging and Disease (TRiMAD) conference.

www.vai.org/event/2025-m...
2025 Midwest Metabolism Meeting
Join us for 2025 Midwest Metabolism Meeting at Van Andel Institute Stay informed about exciting upcoming events and activities.
www.vai.org