Atypical flat lesions derive from pancreatic acinar cells

摘要

Objectives: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is thought to derive from different precursor lesions including the recently identified atypical flat lesions (AFL). While all precursor lesions and PDAC share ductal characteristics, there is an ongoing debate about the cellular origin of the different PDAC precursor lesions. In particular, pancreatic acinar cells have previously been shown to display a remarkable plasticity being able to undergo ductal dedifferentiation in the context of oncogenic stimuli.