Microdissection and culture of murine pancreatic ductal epithelial cells

Given the complexity of morphological presentation and variability in clinical outcomes observed in -epithelial cancers, it is important to understand how genomic perturbations and resultant molecular aberrations lead to acquisition of tumorigenic phenotypes. Complex 3D epithelial culture systems provide investigators with the ability to propagate and manipulate primary cells in an appropriate physical setting in order to deconstruct the contribution of a given genetic lesion(s) to the process of cellular transformation. Pancreatic ductal epithelial cells (PDEC) can give rise to pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia-precursor lesions that precede pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). In this chapter, we describe a series of methods for derivation and culture of primary PDEC, which can be used to elucidate the mechanistic contribution of oncogenic insults to the initiation and progression of pancreatic tumorigenesis.