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Background: Periplocin is a monomeric compound that exhibits anti‐tumor activities. It is extracted from Cortex Periplocae. Objective: This study aimed at determining the effect of periplocin treatment on the apoptosis and proliferation of human pancreatic cancer cells, and to elucidate on its mechanisms of action. Methods: PANC1 and cfpac1 cells were treated with periplocin. Cell proliferation was detected by RTCA, Ki67 immunofluorescence, and a clonogenic assay. The transwell assay was used to examine cell migration and invasion functions. The expression of apoptosis‐associated proteins was detected by flow cytometry and western blotting. Total RNA was extracted from the treated and untreated group of PANC1 cells for RNA‐seq detection and analysis. Differentially expressed genes were screened for GO biological process and KEGG pathway analysis. Finally, CFPAC1 cells were subcutaneously inoculated into BALB / c nude mice to assess tumor growth. Results: Periplocin inhibited the proliferation of PANC1 and CFPAC1 cells and induced their apoptosis by activating the AMPK/mTOR pathway and inhibiting p70 S6K. It also attenuated the cell migration, invasion, and inhibited the growth of cfpac1 xenografts in nude mice. Conclusions: Periplocin inhibits human pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and induces their apoptosis by activating the AMPK / mTOR pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Baohuoside I, a novel oncotherapeutic agent, has been reported to have anti-cancer effects on a variety of cancers, but its role in glioma and its molecular mechanism are still unclear. Methods: The proliferation of U251 cells was detected by real-time cellular analysis (RTCA), CCK-8, Ki67 immunofluorescence and colony formation assay. The effect of Baohuoside I on the invasion and migration of U251 cells was measured by transwell and scratch tests. The apoptosis of U251 cells was detected by flow cytometry. The expression level of related protein was detected by western blotting. Results: Baohuoside I could inhibit the proliferation of human glioma cells and induce apoptosis. Further study showed that the migration and invasion ability of glioma was significantly decreased by Baohuoside I. Western blot revealed the expression of p-AMPKα 1 protein was up-regulated, and the expression of p-mTOR and p-S6K was down-regulated after Baohuoside I treatment. Tumorigenesis in nude mice showed that Baohuoside I had an anti-glioma effect in vivo. Conclusion: We propose a natural product, which can inhibit the proliferation, invasion and migration of glioma and may be a valuable anti-tumor candidate. The inhibitory effect of Baohuoside I on the glioma is achieved by inducing the apoptosis of the tumor cells, rather than autophagy. In addition, the pathway to induce cell apoptosis of Baohuoside I is to target the mTOR signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pancreatic cancer is aggressive with no symptoms until the advanced stage reached. The increased resistance of pancreatic cancer to chemotherapy demonstrates a dilemma in the clinical field. Hence, it is a matter of great urgency to develop an effective drug to treat patients with pancreatic cancer. Betulinic acid is a major triterpene isolated from spina date seed. Several studies have suggested its low toxicity and side effects to patients with malaria and inflammation. However, relevant studies on betulinic acid in inhibiting cancer were insufficient and the molecular mechanism was unclear. This study aimed to systematically explore the potential anti-cancer functions of betulinic acid in pancreatic cancer, and investigate its underlying molecular mechanism. Methods: The Counting Kit-8 assay, colony formation, transwell invasion assay, wound healing assay, flow cytometry and xenograft nude mice model were used to evaluate the effect of betulinic acid on the proliferation, invasion and migration ability of pancreatic cancer cells. Results: Our results showed that betulinic acid obviously suppressed pancreatic cancer both in vitro and in vivo in a dose-dependent manner. We also determined that betulinic acid inhibited pancreatic cancer by specifically targeting mTOR signaling rather than Nrf2 or JAK2. Conclusions: These findings clarify that betulinic acid is a potential and valuable anticancer agent for pancreatic cancer, and indicate the specific molecular target of betulinic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MK8722 is a potent and systemic pan-AMPK activator. It is an effective, direct, allosteric activator of AMPK complex in many mammals. This study tried to explore the underlying anti-cancer molecular mechanism of MK8722 in human pancreatic cancer cells (PCCs). The anti-proliferation, invasion and migration functions of MK8722 in human pancreatic cancer analyzed by real time cellular analysis, colony formation assay, cell migration assay, transwell assay and flow cytometery analysis. Moreover, the potential targeted signaling pathway was tested via RNA-seq and pathway enrichment analysis. In the present study, we investigated the anti-PCCs effects of MK8722 on two different human pancreatic cancer cell lines (PANC-1 and Patu8988). The results showed that MK8722 significantly inhibited human tumor cells proliferation and migration/invasion in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, the influence of MK8722 was examined by analyzing the expression of potential key genes and pathways, which may provide novel insights to the mechanism of MK8722. The inhibition of pancreatic cancer by MK8722 through a number of pathways that inhibit carcinoma proliferation, invasion and migration. The potential effect of MK8722 might be determined by regulating the expression of AL162151, IER2, REPIN1, KRT80 to inhibit cycle arrest and migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]