Figure 7: A proposed model for the role of proteasome activity in pancreatic carcinogenesis.
From: Proteasome activity is required for the initiation of precancerous pancreatic lesions
Activation of proteasome activity plays crucial roles in Kras-induced PanIN formation. Stimulants such as caerulein induce briefly elevation of proteasome activity in pancreatic acinar cells and formation of ADM lesions, but both of them are transient in the absence of mutant KRAS. On the other hands, mutant KRAS causes constitutive elevation of proteasome activity and accelerates ADM to PanIN sequence.
