To examine if there is a correlation between CCL21 and MMP-9, we performed Western blot analysis and demonstrated that CCL21 promoted MMP-9 protein expression in PANC-1 cells (Fig. 5), suggesting that CCL21 plays a potential role in vasculogenesis and vascularization in pancreatic cancer. The gene discussed is MMP9; the disease is familial pancreatic carcinoma.