Ductal vs. acinar? Recent insights into identifying cell lineage of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Yi Xu, Jun Liu, Michael Nipper, Pei Wang

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a deadly disease with a 5-year survival rate of less than 8%. To date, there are no early detection methods or effective treatments available. Many questions remain to be answered in regards to the pathogenesis of PDAC, among which, the controversy over the cell lineage of PDAC demands more attention. Ductal cells were originally thought to be the cell of origin for PDAC due to the ductal morphology of most cases of PDAC. However, recent studies have demonstrated that acinar cells are more sensitive to KRAS mutation and tend to develop to PanIN and PDAC effectively, very likely by undergoing acinar to ductal metaplasia into a transient state that contributes to PDAC initiation. There is also evidence that both ductal and acinar cells can potentially develop to PDAC when exposed to certain genetic settings and stimuli, suggesting that more scrutiny is required for the identification of the true cell lineage of individual cases of PDAC. In this work, we summarize recent findings in the identification of the cellular origin of PDAC, with the goal of advancing our knowledge on the initiation and progression of the disease. We also discuss various models and techniques for investigating early events of PDAC. Better understanding of these cellular events is crucial to identify new methods for the early diagnosis and treatment of PDAC.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numberA72
JournalAnnals of Pancreatic Cancer
Volume2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2019

Keywords

  • Acinar cells
  • Cell lineage
  • Cell of origin
  • Ductal cells
  • Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Internal Medicine
  • Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
  • Oncology
  • Endocrinology

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