The Case for GNMT as a Biomarker and a Therapeutic Target in Pancreatic Cancer
The high mortality rate for pancreatic cancer (PC) is due to the lack of specific symptoms at early tumor stages and a high biological aggressiveness. Reliable biomarkers and new therapeutic targets would help to improve outlook in PC. In this study, we analyzed the expression of GNMT in a panel of...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Book |
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MDPI AG,
2021-03-01T00:00:00Z.
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| Summary: | The high mortality rate for pancreatic cancer (PC) is due to the lack of specific symptoms at early tumor stages and a high biological aggressiveness. Reliable biomarkers and new therapeutic targets would help to improve outlook in PC. In this study, we analyzed the expression of GNMT in a panel of pancreatic cancer cell lines and in early-stage paired patient tissue samples (normal and diseased) by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR). We also investigated the effect of 1,2,3,4,6-penta-<i>O</i>-galloyl-β-<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">d</span>-glucopyranoside (PGG) as a therapeutic agent for PC. We find that GNMT is markedly downregulated (<i>p</i> < 0.05), in a majority of PC cell lines. Similar results are observed in early-stage patient tissue samples, where GNMT expression can be reduced by a 100-fold or more. We also show that PGG is a strong inhibitor of PC cell proliferation, with an IC<sub>50</sub> value of 12 ng/mL, and PGG upregulates GNMT expression in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, our data show that GNMT has promise as a biomarker and as a therapeutic target for PC. |
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| Item Description: | 10.3390/ph14030209 1424-8247 |