Resources / Masterclass Webinar Series:
HOST-Factor: Unveiling pancreatic cancer microenvironment neighborhoods through highplex imaging and spatial profiling
Phenoplex™
48:41 min
Janusz Franco-Barraza
HOST-Factor: Unveiling pancreatic cancer microenvironment neighborhoods through highplex imaging and spatial profiling
Details
48:41 min
About the webinar

Solid tumors’ complexity extends beyond the genetic and functional diversity of cancer cells to include the tumor microenvironment (TME). Understanding the TME’s complexity requires a comprehensive analysis of the composition, functional states, and spatial distribution of its cellular components.

In this session, we will explore the application of basic research discoveries through the Harmonic Output of Stromal Traits (HOST) for the evaluation of the TME. HOST is designed to identify TME cells, while the HOST-Factor quantifies their functional states. The HOST-Factor is a numerical value reflecting the relative contribution of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) to tumor-suppressive or tumor-promoting functions.

Our workflow combines automated high-plex immunofluorescent microscopy with AI-guided image analysis to generate single-cell HOST-Factor values. This approach, applicable to the entire TME or specific regions of interest, provides spatial distribution data and identifies potential tumor-promoting or suppressive neighborhoods.

This talk will highlight the application of Visiopharm’s Phenoplex workflow and its Neighbor Counts module to identify and evaluate HOST+ CAF populations and their spatial distribution. Developed specifically for a pancreatic cancer clinical trial at Fox Chase Cancer Center, this user-friendly pipeline is flexible and useful for assessing diverse stromal compartments in distinct solid tumor cases.

Expert

Janusz Franco-Barraza. MD, PhD

Dr. Franco-Barraza obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular Biomedicine in 2010 from CINVESTAV-IPN (Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico). During his postdoctoral work at Fox Chase Cancer Center, he studied integrin-based activation mechanisms used by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) within their self-secreted extracellular matrix (ECM), acting as complex entities called CAF units. He focuses on understanding the functional traits of these CAF units and their roles in tumor promotion or suppression.

Utilizing approaches including multiplexed immunofluorescence and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital image mining, he is dedicated to understanding the prevalence and interplay of CAF units with other resident cells within the tumor microenvironment. Currently, his research aims to profile the stroma of cancer patients to validate and implement fibroblastic biomarker signatures that could predict treatment responses and disease outcomes.

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