An intensified systemic trafficking of bone marrow‐derived stem/progenitor cells in patients with pancreatic cancer

Various experimental studies indicate potential involvement of bone marrow (BM)‐derived stem cells (SCs) in malignancy development and progression. In this study, we comprehensively analysed systemic trafficking of various populations of BM‐derived SCs (BMSCs), i.e., mesenchymal, haematopoietic, endothelial stem/progenitor cells (MSCs, HSCs, EPCs respectively), and of recently discovered population of very small embryonic/epiblast‐like SCs (VSELs) in pancreatic cancer patients. Circulating CD133+/Lin−/CD45−/CD34+ cells enriched for HSCs, CD105+/STRO‐1+/CD45− cells enriched for MSCs, CD34+/KDR+/CD31+/CD45− cells enriched for EPCs and small CXCR4+CD34+CD133+ subsets of Lin−CD45− cells that correspond to VSELs were enumerated and sorted from blood samples derived from 29 patients with pancreatic cancer, and 19 healthy controls. In addition, plasma levels of stromal‐derived factor‐1 (SDF‐1), growth/inhibitory factors and sphingosine‐1‐phosphate (S1P; chemoattractants for SCs), as well as, of complement cascade (CC) molecules (C3a, C5a and C5b‐9/membrane attack complex – MAC) were measured. Higher numbers of circulating VSELs and MSCs were detected in pancreatic cancer patients (P