Lactylated histone H3K18 as a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and prediction of the severity of pancreatic cancer.

[BACKGROUND] Lactylation plays an essential role in pancreatic cancer, but the precise role of lactylated histone in the diagnosis and prognosis of pancreatic cancer remains to be further clarified.

[METHODS] Twenty-one patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer were enrolled in this study, and the clinicopathologic characteristics were collected. Lactylation levels of total proteins and histone H3 Lysine-18 (H3K18) of tissues were determined by western blotting and laboratory indicators including serum levels of lactate, Cancer Antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), and Carcinoembryogenic Antigen (CEA) were obtained.

[RESULTS] Total protein lactylation was found in both pancreatic cancer tissues and para-carcinoma normal tissues, and was more potent in tumor tissues. H3K18la was also highly expressed tumor tissues. Furthermore, H3K18la protein expression correlated positively with serum lactate (r = 0.774, p < 0.001), CA19-9 (r = 0.744, p < 0.001), and CEA (r = 0.589, p < 0.01). The Area Under the Curve (AUC) of H3K18la for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer was 0.848 in serum (p < 0.001).

[CONCLUSION] The present findings suggested that H3K18 may be used as a novel potential biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of pancreatic cancer patients.