Stromal expression of hemopexin is associated with lymph-node metastasis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is one of the most aggressive types of cancer. Certain proteins in the tumor microenvironment have attracted considerable attention owing to their association with tumor invasion and metastasis. Here, we used proteomics to identify proteins associated with lymph-node metastasis, which is one of the prognostic factors. We selected lymph node metastasis-positive and-negative patients (n = 5 each) who underwent pancreatectomy between 2005 and 2015 and subjected to comprehensive proteomic profiling of tumor stroma. A total of 490 proteins were detected by mass spectrometry. Software analysis revealed that nine of these proteins were differentially expressed between the two patient groups. We focused on hemopexin and ferritin light chain based on immunohistochemistry results. We assessed the clinicopathological data of 163 patients and found that hemopexin expression was associated with UICC N2 (p = 0.0399), lymph node ratio (p = 0.0252), venous invasion (p = 0.0096), and lymphatic invasion (p = 0.0232). Notably, in vitro assays showed that hemopexin promotes invasion of the pancreatic cancer cells. Our findings suggest that hemopexin is a lymph node metastasis-associated protein that could potentially serve as a useful therapeutic target or biomarker of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Identification of potential core genes in colorectal carcinoma and key genes in colorectal cancer liver metastasis using bioinformatics analysis

“…Also, hemopexin promotes invasion of the pancreatic cancer cells. Our findings suggest that hemopexin promotes lymph node metastasis of CRC cells, thus it is a potential therapeutic target for CRC 15 .…”

Influence of 30 and 60 Min of Hypobaric Hypoxia in Simulated Altitude of 15,000 ft on Human Proteome Profile

“…Hemopexin (HPX) was significantly upregulated in HH60. Hemopexin is the plasma protein with the highest binding affinity for heme [ 16 ]. The Complement factor I (CFI), also known as C3b/C4b inactivator, was significantly upregulated after HH60 in comparison to GC60.…”

Hemopexin and Cancer

“…Recently, additional evidence has pointed to a role for Hx in cancer. By comparing the pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) stromal proteome from patient showing lymph-node metastasis (LN+) with that of patients without any metastasis (LN−), it has been observed that Hx expression differs between patients with divergent LN-metastasis status [13]. Particularly, Hx was overexpressed in LN+ PDAC stroma and, thanks to immunohistochemical analyses, it was possible to observe that Hx was mainly expressed in the cancer-cell cytoplasm and stromal fibroblasts.…”