Cell and Molecular Biology Program, New York University School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Cancer Cell. 2010 Nov 16;18(5):448-58. doi: 10.1016/j.ccr.2010.10.020.
Mutational activation of KRas is the first and most frequently detected genetic lesion in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, the precise role of oncogenic KRas in the pathogenesis of PDAC is not fully understood. Here, we report that the endogenous expression of oncogenic KRas suppresses premature senescence in primary pancreatic duct epithelial cells (PDEC). Oncogenic KRas-mediated senescence bypass is conferred by the upregulation of the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor Twist that in turn abrogates p16(INK4A) induction. Moreover, the KRas-Twist-p16(INK4A) senescence bypass pathway is employed in vivo to prevent inflammation-associated senescence of pancreatic ductal epithelium. Our findings indicate that oncogenic KRas could contribute to PDAC initiation by protecting cells from entering a state of permanent growth arrest.
KRas 基因突变是胰腺导管腺癌(PDAC)中最早也是最常检测到的遗传病变。然而,致癌 KRas 在 PDAC 发病机制中的确切作用尚不完全清楚。在这里,我们报告致癌 KRas 的内源性表达抑制了原代胰腺导管上皮细胞(PDEC)的过早衰老。致癌 KRas 介导的衰老旁路是通过上调碱性螺旋-环-螺旋转录因子 Twist 来实现的,而 Twist 反过来又阻止了 p16(INK4A)的诱导。此外,KRas-Twist-p16(INK4A)衰老旁路途径在体内被用于防止胰腺导管上皮的炎症相关衰老。我们的研究结果表明,致癌 KRas 通过防止细胞进入永久生长停滞状态,可能有助于 PDAC 的发生。