Project description:Purpose: we used next generation sequencing to analyze gene expression profiles of pancreatic tissues from KrasG12D;Pdx1-Cre and miR-301a-/-;KrasG12D;Pdx1-Cre mice treated with caerulein. The goals of this study are to compare the different gene expression profiles of pancreatic tissue between KrasG12D;Pdx1-Cre and miR-301a-/-;KrasG12D;Pdx1-Cre mice treated with caerulein.
Project description:Remarkable advancements in protocol development have been achieved to manufacture insulin-secreting islets from human pluripotent stem cells. Distinct from current approaches, we devised a tunable strategy to generate islet spheroids enriched for major islet cell types by incorporating PDX1+ cell budding morphogenesis into the differentiation process of staged transcriptional programming. In this process that appears to mimic normal islet morphogenesis, the differentiating islet spheroids self-organize with endocrine cells that are intermingled or arranged in a core-mantle architecture, accompanied with functional heterogeneity. Through in vitro modelling of human pancreas development, we illustrate the importance of PDX1 in eliciting cell budding morphogenesis, and the requirement for EphB3/4 signaling. We show how RFX6 deficiency affects pancreatic patterning and uncover an expected role of RFX6 in early pancreas morphology. The tunable differentiation system and stem cell-derived islet models described in this work may facilitate addressing fundamental questions in islet biology and probing human pancreas diseases.
Project description:To get a more complete picture of the transcriptional changes associated with Pdx1 loss in ?-cells, we conducted an mRNA microarray comparing normal islet ?-cells and a-cells to the reprogrammed cells from PKO mice. Islet beta cells are from mice which has a single copy of Pdx1 flox (Pdx1L/+) allele, but is considered normal based on normal islet morphology, gene profiling, and euglycemic status. We chose to use heterozygous mice as control to avoid the litter effect. Islet alpha cells are from normal mice. To enrich for genes directly affected by Pdx1 loss, we chose the early time-point for analysis of PKO mice (5d after TAM administration). Control mRNA profiling was performed on FACS sorted islet YFP+ ?-cells and a-cells obtained from 2 month-old glucagon-Cre; RosaYFP and RIP-CreER; Pdx1fl/+, RosaYFP mice, respectively.
Project description:We have carried out transcriptional profile analysis in WT MICE and bitransgenic Pdx1-cre/Kras*A MICE baring Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Mouse models faithfully simulating human cancer are valuable for genetic identification of potential drug-targets but, among them, the most advantageous for practical use in subsequent preclinical testing of candidate therapeutic regimes are those exhibiting rapid tumor development. Considering that a KRAS mutation (predominantly in codon 12, such as KRASG12D; KRAS*) occurs with high frequency (~90%) in cases of human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA)1, we sought to develop a mouse PDA model that would exhibit high tumor incidence and short latency by ectopic overexpression of Kras*. Five WT mice and 6 bitransgenic Pdx1-cre/Kras*A MICE baring Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma were used to identify key genes in the formation of panceatic malignacies
Project description:Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNET) were classified into grades (G) 1-3 by the World Health Organization in 2017, but the precise mechanisms of PanNET initiation and progression have remained unclear. In this study, we used a genetically engineered mouse model to investigate the mechanisms of PanNET formation. Although pancreas-specific deletion of the Rb gene (Pdx1-Cre;Rbf/f) in mice did not affect pancreatic exocrine cells, the α-cell/β-cell ratio of islet cells was decreased at 8 months of age. During long-term observation (18-20 months), mice formed well-differentiated PanNET with a Ki67-labeling index of 2.7%. In contrast, pancreas-specific induction of a p53 mutation (Pdx1-Cre;Trp53R172H) had no effect on pancreatic exocrine and endocrine tissues, but simultaneous induction of a p53 mutation with Rb gene deletion (Pdx1-Cre;Trp53R172H;Rb f/f) resulted in the formation of aggressive PanNET with a Ki67-labeling index of 24.7% over the short-term (4 months). In Pdx1-Cre;Trp53R172H;Rb f/f mice, mRNA expression of Pten and Tsc2, negative regulators of the mTOR pathway, significantly decreased in the islet cells, and activation of the mTOR pathway was confirmed in subsequently formed PanNET. Thus, by manipulating Rb and p53 genes, we established a multistep progression model from dysplastic islet to indolent PanNET and aggressive metastatic PanNET in mice. These observations suggest that Rb and p53 have distinct roles in the development of PanNET.
Project description:Constitutive Kras and NF-kB activation is identified as signature alterations in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Here, we report that pancreas-targeted IKK2/beta inactivation inhibited NF-kB activation and completely suppressed PDAC development. Our findings demonstrated that NF-kB is required for development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma that was initiated by Kras activation. Pancreatic tissue from 4 groups of mice were used in this project: (1) the pancreas normal appearance of Pdx1-cre;KrasLSL-G12D;IKK2/beta mice, (2) the normal pancreas of Pdx1-cre;KrasLSL-G12D mice, (3) the pancreatic lesion of pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) of Pdx1-cre;KrasLSL-G12D mice, and (4) the pancreatic lesion of PDAC of Pdx1-cre;KrasLSL-G12D mice. Each group included three mice. RNA samples from mouse pancreas were hybridized on GeneChip Mouse Gene 1.0 ST arrays (Affymetrix). Group (1) and group (2) were compared, and group (2), group (3) and group (4) were compared.
Project description:Transcription factors positively and/or negatively impact gene expression by recruiting coregulatory factors, which interact through protein-protein binding. Here we demonstrate that mouse pancreas size and islet β cell function are controlled by the ATP-dependent Swi/Snf chromatin-remodeling coregulatory complex that physically associates with Pdx1, a diabetes-linked transcription factor essential to pancreatic morphogenesis and adult islet-cell function and maintenance. Early embryonic deletion of just the Swi/Snf Brg1 ATPase subunit reduced multipotent pancreatic progenitor cell proliferation and resulted in pancreas hypoplasia. In contrast, removal of both Swi/Snf ATPase subunits, Brg1 and Brm, were required to compromise adult islet β cell activity, which included whole animal glucose intolerance, hyperglycemia and impaired insulin secretion. Notably, lineage-tracing analysis revealed that these Swi/Snf deficient β cells lost the ability to produce insulin and other key metabolic genes, yet the expression levels of many essential islet-enriched transcription factors were unaffected. Swi/Snf was necessary for Pdx1 binding to the insulin enhancer, demonstrating the importance of this association in mediating chromatin accessibility. These results illustrate how fundamental the Pdx1:Swi/Snf coregulator complex is in the pancreas and we discuss how disrupting their association could influence Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes susceptibility.
Project description:Constitutive Kras and NF-kappaB activation is identified as signature alterations in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, the mechanisms of constitutive NF-kappaB activation in KrasG12D-induced PDAC are not yet understood. Here, we report that pancreas-targeted IKK2/beta inactivation inhibited NF-kappaB activation and completely suppressed PDAC development in KrasG12D and KrasG12D;Ink4a/Arf mutant mice, demonstrating a genetic link between IKK2/beta and KrasG12D in PDAC inception. Our findings reveal that KrasG12D-activated AP-1 induces IL-1alpha, which in turn activates NF-kappaB and its target genes IL-1alpha and p62, to initiate IL-1alpha/p62 feedforward loops for inducing and sustaining NF-kappaB activity. Furthermore, IL-1alpha overexpression correlates with Kras mutation, constitutive NF-kappaB activity, and poor survival in PDAC patients. Therefore, our findings establish a pathway linking duel feedforward loops of IL-1alpha/p62 through which IKK2/beta/NF-kappaB is activated by KrasG12D. To study Kras-induced inflammatory responses and to identify differentially expressed genes between the pancreatic tissues of Pdx1-Cre;KrasLSL-G12D and Pdx1-Cre;KrasLSL-G12D;IKK2/betaF/F mice, cDNA microarray analysis was performed.