부산대학교 도서관

INTRODUCTION:: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) and their cargo may provide promising biomarkers for early detection of pancreatic ductal carcinoma (PDAC). While blood-born EVs are most frequently studied as cancer biomarkers, pancreatic juice may represent a better biomarker source as it is in close contact with the ductal cells from which PDAC arises. It is, as yet, unknown whether PDAC results in a distinct type or increased number of particles in pancreatic juice and whether this has diagnostic value. METHODS:: Secretin-stimulated pancreatic juice was collected from the duodenum of 54 cases and 117 non-malignant controls under surveillance for PDAC. Serum was available for a subset of these individuals. The vesicular composition of these biofluids was analyzed with nanoparticle tracking analysis. RESULTS:: The concentration of extracellular vesicles did not differ between controls and PDAC cases. However, a higher number of large vesicles was found in pancreatic juice (but not serum) for PDAC patients compared to controls. DISCUSSION:: The composition of isolated EVs from pancreatic juice, but not serum, is altered in PDAC patients. This suggests that pancreatic juice may carry disease-specific markers not present in serum and provides a valuable biomarker source for PDAC diagnosis. The nature of the larger particles in EV isolates from pancreatic juice of PDAC cases requires further investigation.