Figure 1.

Schematic illustration of tumour changes from healthy pancreas to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Top: Haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of healthy human pancreas and resected PDAC tissue. Bottom: Schematic representation of cell–cell and cell–extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions in healthy pancreas and PDAC. PDAC is associated with increases in stromal volume, collagen fibre thickness, collagen crosslink density, hyaluronic acid, reduced laminin, and a switch from cell–cell connections to integrin mediated cell-ECM connections providing a bridge between the contractile cytoskeleton and the ECM.