Secretory Mucin 5AC Promotes Neoplastic Progression by Augmenting KLF4-Mediated Pancreatic Cancer Cell Stemness
Secreted mucin 5AC (MUC5AC) is the most abundantly overexpressed member of the mucin family during early pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia stage I (PanIN-I) of pancreatic cancer (PC). To comprehend the contribution of Muc5ac in PC pathology, we genetically ablated it in an autochthonous murine model (KrasG12D; Pdx-1cre, KC), which mirrors the early stages of PC development.
Neoplastic onset and the PanIN lesion progression were significantly delayed in Muc5ac knockout (KrasG12D; Muc5ac-/-; Pdx-1cre, KCM) animals with a 50% reduction in PanIN-2 and 70% reduction in PanIN-3 lesions compared to KC at 50 weeks of age. Read more . . .