The correlation analysis between PTN expression and clinical characteristics revealed that PTN expression was positively related to cancer progression.
High PTN and N-syndecan expression was closely associated with metastasis and poor prognosis, suggesting that they may promote tumor progression and PNI in the orthotopic mouse model of pancreatic cancer.
Pleiotrophin (PTN) is a secreted, heparin-binding growth factor which is involved in various biological functions such as cell growth, differentiation, and tumor progression.
These results suggest that NRP-1/PTN interaction provides a novel mechanism for controlling the response of endothelial and tumoral cells to PTN and may explain, at least in part, how PTN contributes to tumor angiogenesis and cancer progression.