Endocrine-Exocrine Signaling Drives Obesity-Associated Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Obesity is a major modifiable risk factor for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), yet how and when obesity contributes to PDAC progression is not well understood. Leveraging an autochthonous mouse model, we demonstrate a causal and reversible role for obesity in early PDAC progression, showing that obesity markedly enhances tumorigenesis, while genetic or dietary induction of weight loss intercepts cancer development. Molecular analyses of human and murine samples define microenvironmental consequences of obesity that foster tumorigenesis rather than new driver gene mutations, including significant pancreatic islet cell adaptation in obesity-associated tumors. Specifically, we identify aberrant beta cell expression of the peptide hormone cholecystokinin (Cck) in response to obesity and show that islet Cck promotes oncogenic Kras-driven pancreatic ductal tumorigenesis. Our studies argue that PDAC progression is driven by local obesity-associated changes in the tumor microenvironment and implicate endocrine-exocrine signaling beyond insulin in PDAC development.

Survival of pancreatic cancer cells lacking KRAS function.

Activating mutations in the proto-oncogene KRAS are a hallmark of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), an aggressive malignancy with few effective therapeutic options. Despite efforts to develop KRAS-targeted drugs, the absolute dependence of PDAC cells on KRAS remains incompletely understood. Here we model complete KRAS inhibition using CRISPR/Cas-mediated genome editing and demonstrate that KRAS is dispensable in a subset of human and mouse PDAC cells. Remarkably, nearly all KRAS deficient cells exhibit phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-dependent mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling and induced sensitivity to PI3K inhibitors. Furthermore, comparison of gene expression profiles of PDAC cells retaining or lacking KRAS reveal a role of KRAS in the suppression of metastasis-related genes. Collectively, these data underscore the potential for PDAC resistance to even the very best KRAS inhibitors and provide insights into mechanisms of response and resistance to KRAS inhibition.

Clonal dynamics following p53 loss of heterozygosity in Kras-driven cancers.

Although it has become increasingly clear that cancers display extensive cellular heterogeneity, the spatial growth dynamics of genetically distinct clones within developing solid tumours remain poorly understood. Here we leverage mosaic analysis with double markers (MADM) to trace subclonal populations retaining or lacking p53 within oncogenic Kras-initiated lung and pancreatic tumours. In both models, p53 constrains progression to advanced adenocarcinomas. Comparison of lineage-related p53 knockout and wild-type clones reveals a minor role of p53 in suppressing cell expansion in lung adenomas. In contrast, p53 loss promotes both the initiation and expansion of low-grade pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanINs), likely through differential expression of the p53 regulator p19ARF. Strikingly, lineage-related cells are often dispersed in lung adenomas and PanINs, contrasting with more contiguous growth of advanced subclones. Together, these results support cancer type-specific suppressive roles of p53 in early tumour progression and offer insights into clonal growth patterns during tumour development.