Abstract
Introduction: PDAC is an aggressive cancer making it a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Immune cells such as dendritic cells, natural killer cells, CD8+ and CD4+ T-lymphocytes undergo transitions that can inhibit or promote their functions. In this study, we investigated the expression of key immune cell markers in South African PDAC patients. Methods: After written consent was given, we obtained blood samples from 34 PDAC patients, 6 Chronic Pancreatitis, and 6 healthy volunteers. The blood samples were processed into peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Total RNA was extracted from PBMCs and cDNA was synthesized. We performed real-time PCR for genes representing markers of different immune cells; CD3, CD4, CD8A, CD16, CD56, and CD57. Results: Although not significant, we observed that patients with resectable PDAC had the highest foldchange for both CD4 (53.09 ± 194.30) and CD3 (30.47 ± 75.01) while patients with locally advanced PDAC had the highest fold change for CD8 (3.86 ± 7.35) and CD16 (51.69 ± 108.9) genes compared to metastatic PDAC patients. Conclusion: The non-significant increase in expression of markers of immune cells such as CD8+ and CD4+ T-lymphocytes may suggest the activation of immune response in early tumour stages. Further studies involving increased patient samples and immunophenotyping are ongoing.
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