Abstract
To determine the immunoreactivity of pancreatic-polypeptide (PP) during the development of the human fetal pancreas and ductal pancreatic adenocarcinoma, given that, PP positive cells were demonstrated either into its embryonic anlage or into pancreatic cancer. Tissue sections from 15 pancreatic fetal specimens, and equal number of ductal adenocarcinoma specimens, were assessed. The density of positive cells in the primitive exocrine ductal epithelium and endocrine epithelium was significantly higher than the relevant density in the neoplastic pancreatic tissue of mixed (ductal - endocrine) and pure ductal type (p1 = 0.001, p2 < 0.0005, p3 = 0.046 and p4 < 0.0005 respectively). The above values were estimated during the 10th to 12th week. There was no significant difference in the density of positive cells in the mantle zone of the islets from the 13th to the 24th week, and the neoplastic tissue of mixed (p5 = 0.11) and pure ductal type (p6 = 0.23). The immunostaining for PP identifies a subgroup of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas with a neuroendocrine component, initially considered as pure ductal tumors, and mixed ductal and neuroendocrine tumors. This pattern of expression in neoplasms recapitulates the normal pattern during the embryonal development of the organ, raising the question of therapeutic efficacy of PP and analogues as potential adjuvant treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Highlights
The development of the endocrine pancreas is complex and interrelated with development of the exocrine portion of the organ
From the thirteenth to the twenty – fourth week of gestation, period that coincides with the formation of the islets of Langerhans, a strong positive immunostaining for PP (NCL-PPp) was observed to the endocrine cells (F – cells) in the islet cortex epithelium (Fig. 3)
PP positive cells constituted the majority of neoplastic cells in the ductlike structures or small cords of the tumor
Summary
The development of the endocrine pancreas is complex and interrelated with development of the exocrine portion of the organ. It is clear that both the exocrine and endocrine pancreas are of endodermal origin [15,16]. The evaginations of pancreatic endoderm (fifth week of gestation) into the investing mesenchyme become tubular structures which branch progressively. The primitive duct epithelium provides the stem cell population for all the secretory cells of the pancreas. All four different endocrine cell types can be distinguished by immunocytochemistry [8,17]. These endocrine cells are located in the duct walls or in buds developing from them
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