GSE169618
Nuclear GSK-3ß and Oncogenic KRas Promote Aqp5+ Pancreatic Duct Stem Cell Expansion
Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) represents the most commonly diagnosed precursor lesion of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA), however the cell-of-origin remains unclear. Herein, we show that pancreas-specific activation in mice of nuclear-targeted glycogen synthase kinase-3ß and oncogenic KRasG12D leads to the loss of acinar cells, the expansion of ductal cells, and the rapid development of IPMN with low-grade dysplasia. RNA-sequencing identified the expression of several ductal stem cell lineage genes including the water channel AQP5. The Aqp5+ pancreatic ductal cell pool was proliferative, phenotypically distinct from mature pancreatic ductal cells, and deletion of AQP5 limited IPMN development. Significantly, Aqp5 is highly expressed in human IPMN along with GSK-3b suggesting that human preneoplastic lesions likely arise from the expansion of an Aqp5+ pancreatic ductal stem cell. Altogether, these data identify Aqp5+ ductal cells in the mouse and human pancreas as the likely cell-of-origin for IPMN. Overall design: Pancreas from three 4-week old mice were dissociated into single-cell suspension and equal amount of cells from three were then mixed into one sample.