Abstract:

Objective To establish cancer associated fibroblast（CAF） lines and normal fibroblast （NF） lines and use them to investigate expression of chemokine receptors，MMPs and VEGF and thereby understand the biological behavior of CAFs in pancreatic cancer. Methods Primary cultures of CAFs and NFs were established，and mRNA levels of chemokine receptors，MMPs and VEGF were measured using RT-PCR. Results Expression of mRNAs encoding the chemokine receptors CXCR1，CXCR2，CXCR4，and CXCR7 was higher in CAFs than in NFs. This difference was statistically significant in the case of CXCR2（P=0.010） and CXCR4（P=0.049）. Similarly，MMP7 mRNA was expressed at significantly higher levels in CAFs（P=0.017），as was VEGF（P=0.049）. Conversely，MMP9 mRNA levels were significantly higher in NFs（P=0.012）. Conclusion Differential expression of chemokine receptors，MMPs and VEGF in CAFs may help explain their aggressive behavior in pancreatic cancer.

Key words: Pancreatic neoplasms, Cancer associated fibroblast, Normal fibroblast, Chemokine receptors, Matrix metalloproteinases, Vascular endothelial growth factor