S100s and HMGB1 Crosstalk in Pancreatic Cancer Tumors

Pancreatic cancer remains a disease that is very difficult to treat. S100 proteins are small calcium binding proteins with diverse intra- and extracellular functions that modulate different aspects of tumorigenesis, including tumor growth and metastasis. High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein is a multifaceted protein that also actively influences the development and progression of tumors. In this study, we investigate the possible correlations, at the transcript level, between S100s and HMGB1 in pancreatic cancer. For this purpose, we calculated Pearson’s correlations between the transcript levels of 13 cancer-related S100 genes and HMGB1 in a cDNA array containing 19 pancreatic cancer tumor samples, and in 8 human pancreatic cancer cell lines. Statistically significant positive correlations were found in 5.5% (5 out of 91) and 37.4% (34 of 91) of the possible S100/S100 or S100/HMGB1 pairs in cells and tumors, respectively. Our data suggest that many S100 proteins crosstalk in pancreatic tumors either with other members of the S100 family, or with HMGB1. These newly observed interdependencies may be used to further the characterization of pancreatic tumors based on S100 and HMGB1 transcription profiles.