Publication highlights

Go inside our research

Explore a selection of research case studies from the past five years.

Read now
A Crick researcher reading a scientific paper on a screen.

Researchers at the Crick are tackling the big questions about human health and disease, and new findings are published every week.

Our faculty have picked some of the most significant papers published by Crick scientists, all of which are freely available thanks to our open science policy.

CD9 identifies pancreatic cancer stem cells and modulates glutamine metabolism to fuel tumour growth

This work identifies a cancer stem cell (CSC) population in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) marked by the tetraspanin CD9. We showed that CD9Hi CSCs are required for the epithelial and mesenchymal cellular heterogeneity seen in PDAC. We found that CD9 assembles a protein complex involved in regulating PDAC metabolism on the cell surface. CD9 depletion dramatically inhibited PDAC growth, identifying CD9 as a therapeutic PDAC target.
These findings suggest that the cellular composition of pancreatic cancer is controlled by a CSC population.

View the publication

Read Crick news article

Published in Nature Cell Biology

Published

3D image of a pancreas

Tissue curvature and apicobasal mechanical tension imbalance instruct cancer morphogenesis

This study introduces a new technique, FLASH, which enables immunostaining of whole organs for imaging and opens up the possibility of analysing a plethora of antigens and tissues that were previously impossible to study in 3D. By achieving this feat, we were able to study epithelial deformation from the moment of transformation within the intact pancreas, to show that early tumours adopt different shapes depending on tissue curvature, due to the distribution of intracellular forces. The work connects cell mechanics with the biology of tumour development in an unprecedented manner.

View the publication

Published in Nature

Published

Related content

Find out how we share our research, or go in-depth with some reports on particular research areas.

A researcher in a quiet study space at the Crick.

Accessing our research

We are committed to immediate, unrestricted access to our research through open access.
Gloved hands pipetting liquid in HIV lab

Research case studies 

Explore a selection of recent case studies that spotlight particular areas of research at the Crick.