Chen Y et al. – The results suggest that the serum level of DJ–1 may be a potential biomarker for pancreatic cancer, and that DJ–1 plays critical roles in the pancreatic tumor chemoresistance, supporting the development of chemotherapeutic approaches targeting this oncogene.

• The serum level of DJ-1 was higher in 128 pancreatic cancer patients compared with 62 healthy controls by ELISA.
• To determine the effect of DJ-1 on pancreatic tumor chemoresistance, a siRNA-targeting DJ-1 was synthesized and a stably transfected cell line with DJ-1 over-expression was constructed.
• The mechanism of tumor chemoresistance was assessed by multiple methods, such as MTT assay, real-time PCR, Western blot and flow cytometry.

• The serum level of DJ-1 was higher in pancreatic cancer patients than healthy controls, and it has the relationship with tumor differentiation in pancreatic cancer.
• Down-regulation of DJ-1 enhanced gemcitabine-induced apoptosis in three pancreatic cancer cell lines.
• On the contrary, over-expression of DJ-1 desensitized the MIA PaCa-2 to the induction of apoptosis by gemcitabine.