DETECTION OF THE ANTI-P53 ANTIBODY-RESPONSE IN MALIGNANT AND BENIGN PANCREATIC DISEASE

Genomic alterations in the p53 tumour-suppressor gene and overexpressi on of p53 protein, resulting from gene mutations, are frequently found in pancreatic cancer. In this study we analysed the sera of 160 patie nts with malignant and benign pancreatic diseases for the presence of circulating antibodies to the p53 protein. The analysis of the sera wa s performed using two different enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELI SA) systems. To further substantiate the results, all sera were analys ed by the Western blot technique using a cell lysate of PancTu-1 cells (p53 mutation at codon 176) as antigen source. Additionally, all posi tive sera were analysed by the Western blot technique using recombinan t p53 as the antigen source. Although the rate of p53 mutations in pan creatic tumours is of the same order as in other adenocarcinomas (grea ter than or equal to 50%), an antibody response was found in only 5/78 (6.4%) sera from patients with pancreatic cancer. Two out of 82 (2.4% ) sera of patients with benign pancreatic diseases were clearly positi ve for p53 antibodies. One additional specimen was weakly positive, i. e. only in one ELISA and Western blot system.