Abstract A061: A novel genetically engineered mouse model of Myc-driven pancreatic cancer recapitulates phenotypic heterogeneity, metastasis, and therapy resistance seen in clinical populations
Authors: English Isabel A. , Worth Patrick J. , MacPherson Kevin A. , Heskett Michael B. , Shah Vidhi , Phipps Jackie L. , Betts Courtney , Sivagnanam Shamilene , Pelz Carl , Farrell Amy S. , Allen-Petersen Brittany L. , Joly Meghan M. , Tsuda Motoyuki , Daniel Colin J. , Eng Jenny , Wang Xiaoyan , Kiemen Ashley L. , Wood Laura D. , Morgan Terry K. , Thoma Mary C. , Chu Jennifer M. , Spellman Paul T. , Coussens Lisa M. , Langer Ellen M. , Sears Rosalie C. 
Published: January 2024

One of the most aggressive cancers in the US is pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAc), whose incidence is expected to rise in the coming years. The standard-of-care treatments have improved over the past few decades, but they still primarily involve harsh chemotherapy cocktails and have only marginally increased overall survival, to a 5-year survival rate of 12 percent. c-MYC (MYC), a potent transcription factor, is frequently dysregulated in PDAc. In PDAc and other cancers, MYC plays a significant role in tumor progression, and its dysregulation has been linked to tumor aggressiveness and therapeutic resistance. In various mouse models of cancer, it has been demonstrated that oncogenic MYC expression controls components of the tumor microenvironment (TME). MYC expression in PDAc has been associated with a desmoplastic immune suppressive TME, though the precise mechanism is still unknown. In this study, we introduce a novel genetically modified mouse model (GEMM) of PDAc that can be used to simulate the disease's heterogeneity and investigate how MYC controls the tumor’s immune and stromal microenvironments. In the pancreas of our KMCERT2 model, both mutant Kras and lowly deregulated Myc are expressed through inducible Cre-driven mechanisms. Our research demonstrates how deregulated MYC cooperates with oncogenic KRASG12D in the adult pancreas to promote PDAc, faithfully reproducing the inter- and intra-tumoral heterogeneity observed in clinical PDAc populations. Currently, an embryonic KrasG12D- and p53 loss/mutant-driven PDAc model (KPC) is used for the majority of murine studies of PDAc. To learn more about the mechanisms underlying observed phenotypes in our KMCERT2 model, RNA- and DNA sequencing were performed on microdissected autochthonous tumor specimens as well as KMCERT2 tumor-derived cell lines. In contrast to the KPC model, our inducible KMCERT2 model of PDAc exhibits genetic alterations, such as CDKN2A loss, comparable to human disease. A distinct loss of nuclear p53 expression is also observed. Intriguingly, multiplexed immunohistochemistry analysis of immune cell composition showed that MYC-driven tumors have a higher density of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) when compared to spontaneous KPC tumors. Standard-of-care medications like gemcitabine and FOLFIRINOX are frequently ineffective against human PDAc. Orthotopic therapeutic studies using our KMCERT2 tumor-derived cell lines show a variety of responses to these therapies, with both resistant and sensitive tumor models, allowing us to use this model to better understand the mechanisms causing therapeutic resistance and to test new therapies. Additionally, we observe consistent liver metastasis in both spontaneous and orthotopic transplant settings. Together, these studies investigate the function of dysregulated MYC expression in murine PDAc metastatic behavior, immune phenotypes, and therapeutic response. It also offers mouse models of PDAc that are both spontaneous and orthotopic, recapitulating the complex and highly metastatic nature of the human disease.

Citation Format: Isabel A. English, Patrick J. Worth, Kevin A. MacPherson, Michael B. Heskett, Vidhi Shah, Jackie L. Phipps, Courtney Betts, Shamilene Sivagnanam, Carl Pelz, Amy S. Farrell, Brittany L. Allen-Petersen, Meghan M. Joly, Motoyuki Tsuda, Colin J. Daniel, Jenny Eng, Xiaoyan Wang, Ashley L. Kiemen, Laura D. Wood, Terry K. Morgan, Mary C. Thoma, Jennifer M. Chu, Paul T. Spellman, Lisa M. Coussens, Ellen M. Langer, Rosalie C. Sears. A novel genetically engineered mouse model of Myc-driven pancreatic cancer recapitulates phenotypic heterogeneity, metastasis, and therapy resistance seen in clinical populations [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference in Cancer Research: Pancreatic Cancer; 2023 Sep 27-30; Boston, Massachusetts. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(2 Suppl):Abstract nr A061.