Pancreatic plasticity: Unlocking exocrine lineage specification

Summary The exocrine pancreas, consisting of ducts and acini, is the site of origin of pancreatitis and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Our understanding of the genesis and progression of human pancreatic diseases, including PDAC, is limited because of challenges in maintaining human acinar and ductal cells in culture. Here we report induction of human pluripotent stem cells toward pancreatic ductal and acinar organoids that recapitulate properties of the neonatal exocrine pancreas. Expression of the PDAC-associated oncogene GNASR201C induces cystic growth more effectively in ductal than acinar organoids, whereas KRASG12D is more effective in modeling cancer in vivo when expressed in acinar compared with ductal organoids. KRASG12D, but not GNASR201C, induces acinar-to-ductal metaplasia-like changes in culture and in vivo. We develop a renewable source of ductal and acinar organoids for modeling exocrine development and diseases and demonstrate lineage tropism and plasticity for oncogene action in the human pancreas.
Graphical abstract
Highlights • Generation and long-term maintenance of human acinar organoids from stem cells • GNASR201C induces cystic growth more effectively in ductal than in acinar organoids • KRASG12D induces cancerous lesions more often from acinar versus ductal organoids • KRASG12D in acinar organoids induces an acinar-to-ductal metaplasia-like phenotype
Huang et al. describe conditions for generation of pancreatic ductal and acinar organoids from human stem cells. Expression of KRASG12D or GNASR201C induced cell-lineage-specific phenotypes and cell-state plasticity in culture and in vivo, identifying a renewable source of ductal and acinar organoids for modeling development and diseases of the exocrine pancreas.