Little is known about the origin of pancreatic intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN). Pancreatic duct glands (PDGs) are gland-like outpouches budding off the main pancreatic ducts that function as progenitor niche for the ductal epithelium; they express gastric mucins and have characteristics of side-branch IPMN. We investigated whether PDGs are a precursor compartment for IPMN and the role of trefoil factor family 2 (TFF2)— a protein expressed by PDGs and the gastric mucosa that are involved in epithelial repair and tumor suppression.