In vitro microRNA screening in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma

No reliable predictors of susceptibility to gemcitabine chemotherapy exist in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. MicroRNAs (miR) are epigenetic gene regulators with tumorsuppressive or oncogenic roles in various carcinomas. This study assesses chemoresistant PDAC for its specific miR expression pattern. Gemcitabine-resistant variants of PANC-1, a mutant p53 human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line, were established. MicroRNA screening was investigated by microarray. Gemcitabine-resistant PANC-1 (PANC-1-GR) cell clones were produced by exposing the parental cells to repeated pulsatile gemcitabine treatment over 3 days with constant sublethal concentrations followed by recovery-periods with agent-free medium until the cells recovered exponentially. Parental PANC-1 cells were treated with 0.4µM gemcitabine cycles for approximately 9 months. Affymetrix GeneChip miRNA microarrays (Affymetrix UK Ltd., High Wycombe, UK) were performed in parental and chemoresistant PANC-1 cells after 17 chemotherapy cycles using the manufacturers´ protocols. The samples were prepared from 1µg of total-RNA in accordance with the Affymetrix FlashTag Biotin HSR RNA Labeling Kit. The targets were hybridized overnight to Affymetrix GeneChip miRNA arrays. Following hybridization, the arrays were washed and stained using the Affymetrix GeneChip Fluidics Station 450 and scanned using the Affymetrix GeneChip Scanner 3000 7G. Microarray data quality was checked as recommended by the manufacturer and by the quality metrics in the Partek Genomics Suite software (Partek Inc., St. Louis, MO).