Abstract PR-016: Extrinsic KRAS signaling shapes the pancreatic microenvironment through fibroblast reprogramming

Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDA) has an exceedingly poor prognosis with only 10% 5-year survival rate. Kras mutations are found in over 90% of cases of pancreatic cancer and drive the formation of pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN), precursor lesions to PDA. Both PanIN and PDA are characterized by dense stroma, containing fibroblasts and immune cells. The infiltrating immune cells have a suppressive phenotype and prevent anti-tumor immunity by cytotoxic T cells. The mechanisms underlying the immunosuppression in pancreatic cancer are only partially understood. Our goal was to unravel the non-cell autonomous role of oncogenic Kras (Kras*) expressing epithelial cells in driving the formation of a complex, tumor promoting microenvironment during the onset of pancreatic cancer. Our laboratory has described a mouse model (iKras*) of inducible and reversible expression of Kras* in the pancreas. Taking advantage of the reversibility of Kras* expression in this model, we conducted a thorough characterization of the immune infiltration and function upon modulation of Kras* at different stages of pancreatic carcinogenesis. iKras* mice and wild type littermates were enrolled in experiments at the age of 8-12 weeks. Kras* expression was activated, then we induced acute pancreatitis to promote the formation of pre-neoplastic lesions. After 3 weeks, a time when widespread low-grade lesions and fibrosis are observed, mice were either harvested or Kras* expression was inactivated and 3 days or 1 week later the pancreas was harvested. We performed flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry and cytometry time of flight (CyTOF) in the pancreas to analyze myeloid cell populations, as well as functional markers (Arg1, iNOS, IFN). Myeloid cells and T cells infiltrated the pancreas in presence of active Kras*. Inactivation of Kras* resulted in a relatively modest decrease in infiltrating myeloid cells. However, analysis of the functional marker Arg1, a putative immune suppressive molecule expressed in myeloid cells, indicated that its expression depends on Kras*-expressing cells. When we further studied the interactions among cell types using single cell RNA sequencing, we discovered that non-cell autonomous (extrinsic) oncogenic KRAS signaling reprograms pancreatic fibroblasts, activating an inflammatory gene expression program. As a result, fibroblasts become a hub of extracellular signaling, mediating the polarization and function of pro-tumorigenic myeloid cells while also preventing tissue repair. Citation Format: Ashley Velez-Delgado, Katelyn L. Donahue, Kristee L. Brown, Wenting Du, Valerie Irizarry-Negron, Rosa E. Menjivar, Emily L. Lasse-Opsahl, Nina G. Steele, Stephanie The, Jenny Lazarus, Veerin R. Sirihorachai, Filip Bednar, Timothy L. Frankel, Yaqing Zhang, Marina Pasca di Magliano. Extrinsic KRAS signaling shapes the pancreatic microenvironment through fibroblast reprogramming [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer; 2021 Sep 29-30. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(22 Suppl):Abstract nr PR-016.