Immunohistochemical screening for β₆‐integrin subunit expression in adenocarcinomas using a novel monoclonal antibody reveals strong up‐regulation in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas in vivo and in vitro

Our findings indicate that: (i) alphavbeta6 is overexpressed in pancreatic adenocarcinomas; (ii) alphavbeta6-positive carcinomas originate from alphavbeta6-expressing tissues; (iii) alphavbeta6 expression in tumours seems to be regulated independently from that of its ligands tenascin and fibronectin; and (iv) in-vitro overexpression of alphavbeta6 in pancreatic carcinoma cell lines accompanies spheroid formation.