Journal
GASTROENTEROLOGY
Volume 146, Issue 3, Pages 822-+Publisher
W B SAUNDERS CO-ELSEVIER INC
DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2013.11.052
Keywords
Pancreatic Cancer; Signal Transduction; Mouse Models; Acinar Differentiation
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Funding
- University of Michigan Biological Scholar Program
- University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Gastrointestinal Specialized Program of Research Excellence (GI-SPORE) [P50CA13810, NCI-1R01CA151588-01]
- University of Michigan Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology training grant (National Institutes of Health) [T32 GM07315]
- University of Michigan Center for Organogenesis training grant [5-T32-HD007515]
- NCI [R01 CA155198-02]
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BACKGROUND & AIMS: Kras signaling via mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) is highly up-regulated in pancreatic cancer cells. We investigated whether MAPK signaling is required for the initiation and maintenance of pancreatic carcinogenesis in mice. METHODS: We studied the formation and maintenance of pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanINs) in p48Cre; TetO-KrasG12D; Rosa26(rtTa-IRES-EGFP) (iKras*) mice and LSL-KrasG12D mice bred with p48Cre mice (KC). Mice were given oral PD325901, a small-molecule inhibitor of MEK1 and MEK2 (factors in the MAPK signaling pathway), along with injections of cerulein to induce pancreatitis. Other mice were given PD325901 only after PanINs developed. Pancreatic tissues were collected and evaluated using histologic, immunohistochemical, immunofluorescence, and electron microscopy analyses. Acinar cells were isolated from the tissues and the effects of MEK1 and 2 inhibitors were assessed. RESULTS: PD325901 prevented PanIN formation, but not pancreatitis, in iKras* and KC mice. In iKras* or KC mice given PD325901 at 5 weeks after PanINs developed, PanINs regressed and acinar tissue regenerated. The regression occurred through differentiation of the PanIN cells to acini, accompanied by re-expression of the acinar transcription factor Mist1. CONCLUSIONS: In iKras* and KC mice, MAPK signaling is required for the initiation and maintenance of pancreatic cancer precursor lesions. MAPK signaling promotes formation of PanINs by enabling dedifferentiation of acinar cells into duct-like cells that are susceptible to transformation.
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