Morphological Changes in the Cells of the Ductal Adenocarcinoma of the Pancreas at Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition

The aim of the research was to study the expression of marker genes for the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in the ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas.

Material and methods. Surgical material from 44 patients with ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas was subjected to morphological analysis with molecular genetic research. Total RNA was detected in the detected sections of the anaplastic component using the RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen, Germany). 5 marker genes were used for molecular genetic studies of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT): ZEB1, ZEB2, CDH1, VIM, SNAIL1 (SLUG). Gene expression was measured in triplicate using an EvaGreen intercalating dye. On serial paraffin sections using tissue microarrays technology, immunohistochemical detection of p63, smooth muscle actin, total cytokeratin, cytokeratin 7, vimentin, E-cadherin (Ventana) was performed.

Results. As a result of the study, a positive reaction with mesenchymal markers (vimentin, p63, smooth muscle actin) was detected in the cells of the anaplastic component, in contrast to the glandular component. In a molecular study of the anaplastic component, changes in gene expression were characterized as EMT-positive.

Conclusion. The heterogeneity of ductal cancer is manifested in the appearance of an anaplastic (sarcomalike) component, in which the ability of epithelial tumor cells to acquire the property of mesenchymal cells that do not require stroma and have aggressive malignant potential that affects the survival of patients is traced.

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