Pancreatic CAF-derived Autotaxin (ATX) drives autocrine CTGF expression to modulate pro-tumorigenic signaling

Abstract Autotaxin (ATX), encoded by ENPP2, is a clinical target in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). ATX catalyzes the production of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), an important regulator within the tumor microenvironment (TME), yet the pro-tumorigenic action of the ATX/LPA axis in PDAC remains unclear. Here, by interrogating patient samples and cell line datasets, we show that the PDAC TME, rather than cancer cells, is responsible for the majority of ENPP2 expression, and highlight a key role for cancer associated fibroblast (CAF)-derived ATX in autocrine and paracrine pro-tumorigenic signaling. Using the clinical-stage ATX inhibitor, IOA-289, we identified connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) as a downstream mediator of ATX signaling in the PDAC CAF-derived cell line, 0082T. Genetic ablation or pharmacological inhibition of ATX in 0082T CAFs reduced CTGF secretion via modulation of LPA/LPA receptor (LPAR) signaling. Despite the loss of ATX function, extracellular levels of LPA were paradoxically increased, indicating a role for ATX beyond its enzymatic activity and suggesting a role for its LPA chaperone function in the LPA/LPAR signaling in CAFs. As CAFs are the main source for CTGF in the PDAC TME, these findings suggest a role for ATX in promoting pro-tumorigenic microenvironment via modulation of CAF secretion, not only via its LPA-producing activity but also via its LPA chaperone function, providing a potential mechanism for the anti-tumor effects of ATX inhibition.