Notch2 is required for progression of pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia and development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most fatal malignancies lacking effective therapies. Notch signaling is a key regulator of cell fate specification and pancreatic cancer development; however, the role of individual Notch receptors and downstream signaling is largely unknown. Here, we show that Notch2 is predominantly expressed in ductal cells and pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) lesions. Using genetically engineered mice, we demonstrate the effect of conditional Notch receptor ablation in KrasG12D-driven pancreatic carcinogenesis. Deficiency of Notch2 but not Notch1 stops PanIN progression, prolongs survival, and leads to a phenotypical switch toward anaplastic pancreatic cancer with epithelial-mesenchymal transition. By expression profiling, we identified increased Myc signaling regulated by Notch2 during tumor development, placing Notch2 as a central regulator of PanIN progression and malignant transformation. Our study supports the concept of distinctive roles of individual Notch receptors in cancer development.

• Authors: Pawel K Mazur, Henrik Einwächter, Marcel Lee, Bence Sipos, Hassan Nakhai, Roland Rad, Ursula Zimber-Strobl, Lothar J Strobl, Freddy Radtke, Günter Klöppel, Roland M Schmid, Jens T Siveke
• Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A) Vol. 107 Issue 30 Pg. 13438-43 (Jul 27 2010) ISSN: 1091-6490 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 20624967 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Notch1 protein, mouse
• Notch2 protein, mouse
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc
• Receptor, Notch1
• Receptor, Notch2
• Hras protein, mouse
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras)

Topics

• Adenocarcinoma (genetics, metabolism, pathology)
• Animals
• Blotting, Western
• Carcinoma in Situ (genetics, metabolism, pathology)
• Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal (genetics, metabolism, pathology)
• Cell Line, Tumor
• Disease Progression
• Female
• Gene Expression Profiling
• Humans
• Immunohistochemistry
• Kaplan-Meier Estimate
• Male
• Mice
• Mice, Knockout
• Pancreas (metabolism, pathology)
• Pancreatic Neoplasms (genetics, metabolism, pathology)
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc (genetics, metabolism)
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras) (genetics, metabolism)
• Receptor, Notch1 (genetics, metabolism)
• Receptor, Notch2 (genetics, metabolism)
• Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
• Signal Transduction