title: Soluble a‑proliferation‑inducing ligand (sAPRIL), a novel serum biomarker predicting the recurrence and metastasis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma after surgery.
abstract: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PA) is a leading cause of adult cancer mortality, and surgery is still the best available treatment strategy. However, PA can recur at any time and has limited prognosis. It is therefore necessary to explore novel serum biomarkers of PA to allow the early diagnosis of PA. Soluble a-proliferation-inducing ligand (sAPRIL), a promising inducer of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), is often found overexpressed in a variety of autoimmune diseases. To determine whether serum sAPRIL can constitute a PA biomarker, the protein level of sAPRIL was examined by immunohistochemistry and western blot, and the mRNA level was quantified by RT-qPCR. The PA cell line PanC-1 was transfected with vectors bearing the sAPRIL gene and sAPRIL short hairpin RNA (shRNA) oligos. Increased expression of serum sAPRIL was observed in patients with PA recurrence or metastasis after five-year surgery compared to subjects without PA recurrence or metastasis. The growth rate of PanC-1 cells transfected with the sAPRIL expression vector was increased by 23% (P<0.01, vs. control group), and was reduced by 17% (P<0.01, vs. control group) in the sAPRIL shRNA-silenced cell line. Thus, sAPRIL is highly expressed in PA, and serum levels of sAPRIL can serve as a useful indicator for the recurrence or metastasis of PA after surgery. Additional validation studies on the use of serum sAPRIL as a diagnostic marker in PA are however needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Surgery, The General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region, Shenyang, Liaoning 110016, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Surgery, The General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region, Shenyang, Liaoning 110016, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, The General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region, Shenyang, Liaoning 110016, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Fulin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Surgery, The General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region, Shenyang, Liaoning 110016, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, College of Clinical Medical Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110004, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Kejian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Surgery, The General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region, Shenyang, Liaoning 110016, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wenping
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005260:Female; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D034622:RNA Interference; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000378:metabolism; D014162:Transfection; D053300:Tumor Necrosis Factor Ligand Superfamily Member 13 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; C114631:TNFSF13 protein, human; D053300:Tumor Necrosis Factor Ligand Superfamily Member 13