Transcriptome Analysis of Piperlongumine-Treated Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells Reveals Involvement of Oxidative Stress and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Pathways

Capsaicin, main pungent ingredient of hot chilli peppers, has been shown to have anticarcinogenic effect on various cancer cells through multiple mechanisms. In this study, we investigated the apoptotic effect of capsaicin on human pancreatic cancer cells in bothin vitroandin vivosystems, as well as the possible mechanisms involved.In vitro, treatment of both the pancreatic cancer cells (PANC-1 and SW1990) with capsaicin resulted in cells growth inhibition, G0/G1 phase arrest, and apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Knockdown of growth arrest- and DNA damage-inducible gene 153 (GADD153), a marker of the endoplasmic-reticulum-stress- (ERS-) mediated apoptosis pathway, by specific siRNA attenuated capsaicin-induced apoptosis both in PANC-1 and SW1990 cells. Moreover,in vivostudies capsaicin effectively inhibited the growth and metabolism of pancreatic cancer and prolonged the survival time of pancreatic cancer xenograft tumor-induced mice. Furthermore, capsaicin increased the expression of some key ERS markers, including glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), phosphoprotein kinase-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (phosphoPERK), and phosphoeukaryotic initiation factor-2α(phospho-eIF2α), activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) and GADD153 in tumor tissues. In conclusion, we for the first time provide important evidence to support the involvement of ERS in the induction of apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells by capsaicin.

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APE2 Is a General Regulator of the ATR-Chk1 DNA Damage Response Pathway to Maintain Genome Integrity in Pancreatic Cancer Cells

Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology ◽

10.3389/fcell.2021.738502 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Md Akram Hossain ◽

Yunfeng Lin ◽

Garrett Driscoll ◽

Jia Li ◽

Anne McMahon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Oxidative Stress ◽

Pancreatic Cancer ◽

Dna Damage ◽

Cancer Cells ◽

Dna Damage Response ◽

Human Pancreatic Cancer ◽

Genome Integrity ◽

Pancreatic Cancer Cells ◽

Damage Response ◽

Egg Extracts

The maintenance of genome integrity and fidelity is vital for the proper function and survival of all organisms. Recent studies have revealed that APE2 is required to activate an ATR-Chk1 DNA damage response (DDR) pathway in response to oxidative stress and a defined DNA single-strand break (SSB) in Xenopus laevis egg extracts. However, it remains unclear whether APE2 is a general regulator of the DDR pathway in mammalian cells. Here, we provide evidence using human pancreatic cancer cells that APE2 is essential for ATR DDR pathway activation in response to different stressful conditions including oxidative stress, DNA replication stress, and DNA double-strand breaks. Fluorescence microscopy analysis shows that APE2-knockdown (KD) leads to enhanced γH2AX foci and increased micronuclei formation. In addition, we identified a small molecule compound Celastrol as an APE2 inhibitor that specifically compromises the binding of APE2 but not RPA to ssDNA and 3′-5′ exonuclease activity of APE2 but not APE1. The impairment of ATR-Chk1 DDR pathway by Celastrol in Xenopus egg extracts and human pancreatic cancer cells highlights the physiological significance of Celastrol in the regulation of APE2 functionalities in genome integrity. Notably, cell viability assays demonstrate that APE2-KD or Celastrol sensitizes pancreatic cancer cells to chemotherapy drugs. Overall, we propose APE2 as a general regulator for the DDR pathway in genome integrity maintenance.

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