SERPINB3 induces the aggressive basal-like/squamous subtype and promotes invasion and metastasis in pancreatic cancer III

Pancreatic cancer is a heterogenous disease and consists of distinct subtypes. Here, we searched for candidate driver genes of the basal-like/squamous subtype, a more aggressive molecular subtype of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Through an integrated transcriptome analysis, we identified the serine/cysteine protease inhibitor, SERPINB3 (squamous cell carcinoma antigen 1, SCCA1), as being upregulated in the basal-like/squamous PDAC using a discovery and validation approach. SERPINB3 upregulation associated with decreased patient survival and a transcriptome profile indicative of the basal-like/squamous subtype. The goal of this study was aimed to identify SERPINB3 induced molecular signatures in PDAC. RNA was isolated from human PDAC patient tumors using TRIzol method. The mRNA profiles of the above human PDAC tumors were generated by deep sequencing using Illumina Novaseq.