Data from <i>Tgfbr1</i> Haploinsufficiency Inhibits the Development of Murine Mutant <i>Kras</i>-Induced Pancreatic Precancer

To dissect the role of constitutively altered Tgfbr1 signaling in pancreatic cancer development, we crossed Elastase-Kras^G12D (EL-Kras) mice with Tgfbr1 haploinsufficient mice to generate EL-Kras/Tgfbr1^+/− mice. Mice were euthanized at 6 to 9 months to compare the incidence, frequency, and size of precancerous lesions in the pancreas. Only 50% of all EL-Kras/Tgfbr1^+/− mice developed preinvasive lesions compared with 100% of EL-Kras (wild-type Tgfbr1) mice. The frequency of precancerous lesions was 4-fold lower in haploinsufficient than in control mice. Paradoxically, the precancerous lesions of EL-Kras/Tgfbr1^+/− mice were considerably larger than those in EL-Kras mice. Yet, the mitotic index of precancerous cells and the observable levels of fibrosis, lipoatrophy, and lymphocytic infiltration were reduced in EL-Kras/Tgfbr1^+/− mice. We conclude that Tgfbr1 signaling promotes the development of precancerous lesions in mice. These findings suggest that individuals with constitutively decreased TGFBR1 expression may have a decreased risk of pancreatic cancer. [Cancer Res 2009;69(24):9169–74]