Abstract C100: Novel functions of ATF4 in early stages of pancreatic cancer tumorigenesis
Authors: Ziolkowski Leah M. , Macleod Kay F. 
Published: January 2024

Biological stresses that are cell-intrinsic (e.g., oncogene-induced imbalances in protein translation, lipid synthesis, mitochondrial dysfunction) or cell-extrinsic (e.g., nutrient deprivation, hypoxia, drug exposure) disrupt cellular function and viability if not mitigated. The Integrated Stress Response (ISR) consists of upstream regulatory kinases (PERK, GCN2, HRI, PKR) that respond to such stresses in part by activating the ATF4 transcription factor. ATF4 then rewires nutrient uptake, cellular metabolism, mitochondrial function, and protein chaperone networks to restore cellular homeostasis. We have shown that ATF4 is upregulated in mouse and human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), even compared to normal acinar cells where ATF4 is expressed at relatively high levels. To investigate the role of ATF4 in PDAC, we generated mice with inducible acinar-specific deletion of Atf4 using Ptf1a-CreERT to delete Atf4 following treatment of adult Atf4-floxed mice with tamoxifen. In contrast to previous studies showing germline deletion of Atf4 in mice caused premature mortality at approximately 3 weeks of age due to pancreatic insufficiency, inducible deletion of Atf4 in adult acinar cells does not cause pancreatic deficiency or animal demise. Rather, adult Ptf1a-CreERT;Atf4fl/fl (CA) mice are viable although more sensitive to cerulein-induced pancreatitis. Specifically, compared to control (WT) mice, CA mice exhibit more extensive acinar-ductal metaplasia (ADM), including more extensive expression of cytokeratin-19 (CK19), increased cell death and take longer to recover normal pancreatic architecture following in vivo cerulein challenge. Using ex vivo acinar explant assays derived from WT and CA mice, we further show that induction of ADM in WT acinar cells with TGF-a is associated with down-regulation of Atf4 and Atf4 target genes in WT acinar explants while CA explants undergo accelerated ADM. Furthermore, expression of exogenous Atf4 in acinar cells inhibited ADM. These in vivo and ex vivo findings are consistent with down-regulation of Atf4 being required for ADM. Given the tumor-promoting role of ADM in the early stages of PDAC, we next crossed the CA mice to LSL-KRasG12D mice to generate LSL-KRasG12D;Ptf1a-CreERT;Atf4fl/fl (KCA) mice to examine how loss of Atf4 affected pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) and PDAC formation. Surprisingly, given the critical need to down-regulate Atf4 in ADM, we show for the first time that genetic deletion of Atf4 in pancreatic acinar cells blocks both PanIN and PDAC formation in KCA mice compared to age-matched KC mice. Rather, KCA mice developed a fatty pancreas devoid of tumor with very few CK19-positive cells forming. These results suggest that Atf4 is critical for PanIN formation and prevents PDAC. This also suggests that Atf4 plays a different role in PanIN formation than in ADM where its down-regulation was critical and indicates a dynamic role for Atf4 depending on oncogenic versus proteotoxic stress, as will be discussed.

Citation Format: Leah M. Ziolkowski, Kay F. Macleod. Novel functions of ATF4 in early stages of pancreatic cancer tumorigenesis [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 C100.