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  • Rat N-ERC/mesothelin as a marker for in vivo screening of drugs against pancreas cancer.

Rat N-ERC/mesothelin as a marker for in vivo screening of drugs against pancreas cancer.

PloS one (2014-10-28)
Katsumi Fukamachi, Masaaki Iigo, Yoshiaki Hagiwara, Koji Shibata, Mitsuru Futakuchi, David B Alexander, Okio Hino, Masumi Suzui, Hiroyuki Tsuda
ABSTRACT

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a highly lethal disease, which is usually diagnosed in an advanced stage. We have established transgenic rats carrying a mutated K-ras gene controlled by Cre/loxP activation. The animals develop PDA which is histopathologically similar to that in humans. Previously, we reported that serum levels of N-ERC/mesothelin were significantly higher in rats bearing PDA than in controls. In the present study, to determine whether serum levels of N-ERC/mesothelin correlated with tumor size, we measured N-ERC/mesothelin levels in rats bearing PDA. Increased serum levels of N-ERC/mesothelin correlated with increased tumor size. This result indicates an interrelationship between the serum level of N-ERC/mesothelin and tumor size. We next investigated the effect of chemotherapy on serum N-ERC/mesothelin levels. Rat pancreatic cancer cells were implanted subcutaneously into the flank of NOD-SCID mice. In the mice treated with 200 mg/kg gemcitabine, tumor weight and the serum level of N-ERC/mesothelin were significantly decreased compared to controls. These results suggest that serum N-ERC/mesothelin measurements might be useful for monitoring response to therapy.

MATERIALS
Product Number
Brand
Product Description

USP
Gemcitabine hydrochloride, United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Reference Standard
Sigma-Aldrich
Gemcitabine hydrochloride, ≥98% (HPLC)
Gemcitabine hydrochloride, European Pharmacopoeia (EP) Reference Standard