Oridonin overcomes the gemcitabine resistant PANC-1/Gem cells by regulating GST pi and LRP/1 ERK/JNK signalling.
Bili Wang, Can Shen, Yang Li, Ting Zhang, Hui Huang, Jun Ren, Zhengjun Hu, Jian Xu, Bin Xu
Author Information
Bili Wang: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Medical Technology College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, People's Republic of China.
Can Shen: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Medical Technology College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, People's Republic of China.
Yang Li: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Medical Technology College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, People's Republic of China.
Ting Zhang: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Medical Technology College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, People's Republic of China.
Hui Huang: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Medical Technology College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, People's Republic of China.
Jun Ren: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Medical Technology College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, People's Republic of China.
Zhengjun Hu: Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310006, People's Republic of China.
Jian Xu: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Medical Technology College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, People's Republic of China.
Bin Xu: Department of General Surgery, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310016, People's Republic of China.
Chemotherapy remains a primary treatment method for advanced pancreatic cancer. However, chemotherapy resistance can influence the therapeutic effect of pancreatic cancer. The resistance mechanism of chemotherapeutic agents such as gemcitabine, which is an agent typically used to treat pancreatic cancer, is complicated and can be influenced by genes and the environment. Oridonin is a tetracyclic diterpenoid compound extracted from the traditional Chinese herb . Oridonin may overcome drug resistance in pancreatic cancer, but researching pancreatic cancer drug resistance of chemotherapy by oridonin is not completely understood. The present study aimed to assess the impact of oridonin on multidrug resistance proteins, apoptosis-associated proteins and energy metabolism in gemcitabine-resistant PANC-1 (PANC-1/Gem) pancreatic cancer cells. Gemcitabine resistance in PANC-1/Gem cells was induced using a concentration gradient of gemcitabine. Cell Counting Kit-8 assays were used to detect the impact of gemcitabine and oridonin on the proliferation of PANC-1 and PANC-1/Gem cells. Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence were used to detect the expression of multidrug resistance proteins, apoptosis-associated proteins and low-density lipoprotein receptor protein 1 (LRP1) proteins in PANC-1/Gem cells. The effects of gemcitabine and oridonin on PANC-1/Gem cells apoptosis were detected using flow cytometry. Animal xenograft tumor assays were used to detect the effect of gemcitabine and oridonin on pancreatic cancer in vivo. Furthermore, the ATP Assay kit was used to determine the effects of gemcitabine and oridonin on ATP levels in PANC-1/Gem cells. Immunofluorescence assays were used to detect the effects of gemcitabine and oridonin on the expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor protein 1 (LRP1) in PANC-1/Gem cells. In addition, LRP1 expression was knocked down in PANC-1/Gem cells via lentiviral vector-mediated RNA silencing. Clone formation assays and Western blot analysis were used to detect the effect of LRP1 knockdown on the proliferation of PANC-1/Gem cells. The present results demonstrate that oridonin overcomes PANC-1/Gem cells gemcitabine reistance by regulating GST pi and LRP1/ERK/JNK signaling. In conclusion, the present study indicated that oridonin could overcome gemcitabine resistance in PANC-1/Gem cells by regulating GST pi and LRP1/ ERK/JNK signaling, inducing cell apoptosis. Therefore, oridonin with gemcitabine may be a promising preoperative treatment for patients who suffer from pancreatic cancer.