Differential expression profile of CXC-receptor-2 ligands as potential biomarkers in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

The discovery of early detection markers of pancreatic cancer (PC) disease is highly warranted. We analyzed the expression profile of different CXC-receptor-2 (CXCR2) ligands in PC cases for the potential of biomarker candidates. Analysis of different PDAC microarray datasets with matched normal and pancreatic tumor samples and next-generation sequenced transcriptomics data using an online portal showed significantly high expression of CXCL-1, 3, 5, 6, 8 in the tumors of PC patients. High CXCL5 expression was correlated to poor PC patient survival. Interestingly, mRNA and protein expression analysis of human PC cell lines showed higher CXCL2, 3, and 5 expressions in cell lines derived from metastatic sites than primary tumors. Furthermore, we utilized immunohistochemistry (IHC) to evaluate the expression of CXCR2 ligands in the human PC tumors and observed positive staining for CXCL1, 3, and 8 with a higher average IHC composite score of CXCL3 in the PC tissue specimens than the normal pancreas. We also observed an increase in the expression of mouse CXCL1, 3, and 5 in the pre-cancerous lesions of tumors and metastasis tissues derived from the PDX-cre-LSL-Kras(G12D) mouse model. Together, our data suggest that different CXCR2 ligands show the potential of being utilized as a diagnostic biomarker in PC patients.