%0 Journal Article
%T Combined PIVKA II and Vimentin-Guided EMT Tracking in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Combined Biomarker-Guided EMT Tracking in PDAC.
%A Farina A
%A Viggiani V
%A Cortese F
%A Moretti M
%A Tartaglione S
%A Angeloni A
%A Anastasi E
%J Cancers (Basel)
%V 16
%N 13
%D 2024 Jun 27
%M 39001424
%F 6.575
%R 10.3390/cancers16132362
%X "Background/Aim": the current inability to diagnose Pancreatic Cancer Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) at an early stage strongly influences therapeutic strategies. Protein Induced by Vitamin K Absence (PIVKA II) showed an accurate diagnostic performance for PDAC. Since circulating PIVKA II has been recently associated with pancreatic origin cells with Vimentin, an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) early activation marker, the aim of this study was to investigate in vivo the combination between the two proteins. "Materials and Methods": we assayed the presence of PIVKA II and Vimentin proteins by using different diagnostic methods. A total of 20 PDAC patients and 10 healthy donors were tested by Western Blot analysis; 74 PDAC patient and 46 healthy donors were assayed by ECLIA and Elisa. "Results": Western Blot analysis showed the concomitant expression of PIVKA II and Vimentin in PDAC patient sera. Immunometric assay performed on a larger cohort of patients demonstrated that 72% of PIVKA II-positive PDAC patients were Vimentin-positive. Additionally, in a group of PDAC patients with PIVKA II levels ≥2070 ng/mL, the percentage of Vimentin-positive subjects reached 84%. "Conclusion": the association between PIVKA II protein and the EMT suggests that this molecule could be considered a marker of the acquisition of an aggressive phenotype.