Lewis Brian C
Program in Gene Function and Expression, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 364 Plantation Street, LRB 521, Worcester, MA 01605 USA.
Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 2006 Jun;35(2):397-404, xi. doi: 10.1016/j.ecl.2006.02.003.
The pancreas is specified during embryonic development from the gut endoderm. Among the signaling pathways required for the proper development of the organ are the notch and hedgehog signaling pathways. Both of these pathways are reactivated in pancreatic cancers, and sustained hedgehog signaling is required for the viability of most pancreatic cancer cell lines. Further, mouse models of the disease show activation of these pathways, and expression of pancreas progenitor markers. These findings indicate that developmentally regulated gene expression programs are important in the pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer.
胰腺在胚胎发育过程中由肠道内胚层分化而来。该器官正常发育所需的信号通路包括Notch和Hedgehog信号通路。这两种信号通路在胰腺癌中均被重新激活，并且大多数胰腺癌细胞系的存活需要持续的Hedgehog信号。此外，该疾病的小鼠模型显示出这些信号通路的激活以及胰腺祖细胞标志物的表达。这些发现表明，发育调控的基因表达程序在胰腺癌的发病机制中很重要。
