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-KrasG12D mouse model. Together, our data suggest that different CXCR2
ligands show the potential of being utilized as a diagnostic
biomarker in PC patients.