JOURNAL ARTICLE
RESEARCH SUPPORT, N.I.H., EXTRAMURAL
RESEARCH SUPPORT, NON-U.S. GOV'T
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Acinar-to-ductal metaplasia accompanies c-myc-induced exocrine pancreatic cancer progression in transgenic rodents.

Several important characteristics of exocrine pancreatic tumor pathogenesis remain incompletely defined, including identification of the cell of origin. Most human pancreatic neoplasms are ductal adenocarcinomas. However, acinar cells have been proposed as the source of some ductal neoplasms through a process of acinar-to-ductal metaplasia. The oncogenic transcription factor c-myc is associated with human pancreatic neoplasms. Transgenic mice overexpressing c-myc under control of acinar cell-specific elastase (Ela) gene regulatory elements not only develop acinar cell carcinomas but also mixed neoplasms that display both acinar-like neoplastic cells and duct-like neoplastic cells. In this report, we demonstrate that, first, c-myc is sufficient to induce acinar hyperplasia, though neoplastic lesions develop focally. Second, cell proliferation remains elevated in the neoplastic duct cell compartment of mixed neoplasms. Third, the proliferation/apoptosis ratio in cells from all lesion types remains constant, suggesting that differential regulation of these processes is not a feature of cancer progression in this model. Fourth, before the development of mixed neoplasms, there is transcriptional activation of the duct cell-specific cytokeratin-19 gene promoter in multicellular foci of amylase-positive acinar neoplasms. This observation provides direct evidence for metaplasia as the mechanism underlying development of ductal neoplastic cells within the context of an acinar neoplasm and suggests that the stimulus for this transformation acts over a multicellular domain or field within a neoplasm. Finally, focal ductal elements develop in some acinar cell carcinomas in Ela-c-myc transgenic rats, indicating that myc-associated acinar-to-ductal metaplasia is not restricted to the mouse.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app