Objective To investigate the inhibitory effects of RNA interference (RNAi) expression vector on the expression of survivin in pancreatic cancer cell PANC-1. Methods The protein and mRNA expressions of survivin were examined with immunofluorescence and RT-PCR. The survivin gene was cloned into the T-vector and sequenced. The RNAi expression vectors targeting survivin, named si-svv-1 and si-svv-2 respectively according to whether they harbored a mutation or no mutation, were constructed and transfected into PANC-1 cells with liposome. The expression of survivin mRNA was detected with RT-PCR. Apoptosis of PANC-1 cells was analyzed with DNA ladder and FACS. Results There was a high degree expression of survivin in PANC-1 cells. The expression of survivin was not inhibited by RNAi expression vectors si-svv-1, but inhibited about (72.43±8.04)% by si-svv-2 and the apoptosis rate of PANC-1 cells increased to （12.36±1.44）% after 72 h. Conclusion The RNAi expression vector can effectively inhibit the expression of survivin in pancreatic cancer cell PANC-1 cells and induce the apoptosis in PANC-1 cells.
ObjectiveTo investigate the relation between disulfidptosis-related genes (DRGs) and prognosis or immunotherapy response of patients with pancreatic cancer (PC). MethodsThe transcriptome data, somatic mutation data, and corresponding clinical information of the patients with PC in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were downloaded. The DRGs mutated in the PC were screened out from the 15 known DRGs. The DRGs subtypes were identified by consensus clustering algorithm, and then the relation between the identified DRGs subtypes and the prognosis of patients with PC, immune cell infiltration or functional enrichment pathway was analyzed. Further, a risk score was calculated according to the DRGs gene expression level, and the patients were categorized into high-risk and low-risk groups based on the mean value of the risk score. The risk score and overall survival of the patients with high-risk and low-risk were compared. Finally, the relation between the risk score and (or) tumor mutation burden (TMB) and the prognosis of patients with PC was assessed. ResultsThe transcriptome data and corresponding clinical information of the 177 patients with PC were downloaded from TCGA, including 161 patients with somatic mutation data. A total of 10 mutated DRGs were screened out. Two DRGs subtypes were identified, namely subtype A and subtype B. The overall survival of PC patients with subtype A was better than that of patients with subtype B (χ2=8.316, P=0.003). The abundance of immune cell infiltration in the PC patients with subtype A was higher and mainly enriched in the metabolic and conduction related pathways as compaired with the patients with subtype B. The mean risk score of 177 patients with PC was 1.921, including 157 cases in the high-risk group and 20 cases in the low-risk group. The risk score of patients with subtype B was higher than that of patients with subtype A (t=14.031, P<0.001). The overall survival of the low-risk group was better than that of the high-risk group (χ2=17.058, P<0.001), and the TMB value of the PC patients with high-risk was higher than that of the PC patients with low-risk (t=5.642, P=0.014). The mean TMB of 161 patients with somatic mutation data was 2.767, including 128 cases in the high-TMB group and 33 cases in the low-TMB group. The overall survival of patients in the high-TMB group was worse than that of patients in the low-TMB group (χ2=7.425, P=0.006). ConclusionDRGs are closely related to the prognosis and immunotherapy response of patients with PC, and targeted treatment of DRGs might potentially provide a new idea for the diagnosis and treatment of PC.
ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate the potential value of C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CAR) as an indicator of prognosis and survival in patients with pancreatic cancer. MethodsThe literatures were searched comprehensively in the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CBM, Wanfang, CNKI, and CQVIP databases from the establishment of the databases to May 20, 2021. The combined hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were used to evaluate the correlation between the CAR and the overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), or disease-free survival (DFS) in the patients with pancreatic cancer. The Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS) was used to evaluate the quality of the non-randomized controlled studies, and the Stata SE 15.0 software was used for meta-analysis. ResultsA total of 2 985 patients with pancreatic cancer were included in this meta-analysis of 15 studies. The results of meta-analysis showed that the higher CAR value, the shorter OS [effect size (ES)=0.60, 95%CI (0.50, 0.69), Z=12.04, P<0.001], DFS [ES=0.63, 95%CI (0.47, 0.78), Z=3.61, P<0.001], and PFS [ES=0.41, 95%CI (0.19, 0.63), Z=7.91, P<0.001] in the patients with pancreatic cancer. The results of subgroup analysis of OS according to different countries, sample size, mean age, follow-up time, CAR cut-off value, and NOS score showed that the higher CAR value was related to the shorter OS (P<0.05). The result of linear regression analysis showed that there was no correlation between the CAR cut-off value and lnHR of OS (r2=0.947, P=0.455). Conclusion From results of this study, CAR is closely related to OS of patients, and it is expected to be used as a new reference index for monitoring and judging prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer.
ObjectiveTo explore the new gene therapy method for tumor, the recombinant Caspase3 gene (rcaspase3) eukaryotic expression plasmid was constructed by molecular biologic method. MethodsThe eukaryotic expression plasmid pcDNA3.1(+)/rCaspase3 was constructed by rearrangement of the large subunit and small subunit of Caspase3 and it was transfected into pancreatic carcinoma cells(PCⅡ). After being transfected, the expression of rCaspase3 mRNA in pancreatic carcinoma cells was detected by RTPCR and it’s apoptotic activity was detected by FCM. ResultsThe sequence of rCaspase3 showed that the recombinant molecules (rCaspase3) now had its’ small subunit preceding its’ large subunit. After pancreatic carcinoma cells being transfected with the pcDNA3.1(+)/rCaspase3 by liposomes, a 894 bp strap was observed by RTPCR. No strap was found in control groups. A transparent hypodiploid karyotype peak was found by FCM.ConclusionThe plasmid of pcDNA3.1(+)/rCaspase3 has been constructed successfully. rCaspase3 has apoptotic activity and can be used as target gene in gene therapy for pancreatic carcinoma.
ObjectiveTo summarize the research progress of KRAS mutation in pancreatic tumorigenesis and therapy.MethodThe research progress of KRAS mutation in pancreatic tumorigenesis and therapy were summarized by reading the domestic and international literatures published in recent years.ResultsPancreatic cancer had the title of " king of cancer”. More than 90% of pancreatic cancer patients had KRAS mutation. KRAS had a complex relationship with pancreatic cancer through downstream signaling pathways, including Raf (rapidly accelerated fibrosarcoma)-mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), phosphatidylinositol-4, 5-bisphosphate 3-kinase (PI3K)-protein kinase B (AKT), and RalGDS-Ral. Although basic research on pancreatic cancer was deepening, there was still a lack of effective molecular targeted drugs.ConclusionsKRASgene plays an important role in the occurrence of pancreatic cancer. The treatment associated with KRAS mutation provides a more effective prognostic possibility for pancreatic cancer patients.
ObjectiveTo summarize the influence of dietary factors on the risk of pancreatic cancer and its possible mechanism. MethodThe literatures relevant to studies of the influence of dietary factors on the risk of pancreatic cancer were collected and reviewed. ResultsThe total intakes of carbohydrate, fatty acid, protein, and vitamin affected the risk of pancreatic cancer, and the different substances belonging to the same nutrients had different effects on the risk of pancreatic cancer. In addition to nutrients, the popular beverages and different dietary patterns in recent years also affected the risk of pancreatic cancer through certain mechanisms. ConclusionDietary factors can affect risk of pancreatic cancer through a variety of mechanisms, and it might decrease risk of pancreatic cancer by intervening in dietary factors in daily life for healthy people.
Objective To search for the significant gene indicators in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Methods Literatures about genetic diagnosis of pancreatic cancer were collected and reviewed. Results K-ras, p53, DPC4 and telomerase genes were considered to play important roles in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Conclusion Detection of the genes related to pancreatic cancer may be of helpful in early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
ObjectiveTo investigate the influence of heat shock protein A2 (HSPA2) on the biological behavior of pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells and its mechanism. MethodsThe expressions of HSPA2 were determined in the human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines (PANC-1, BxPC-3, and AsPC-1) using the Western blot. Subsequently, the cells with the lowest and highest HSPA2 expressions among these three lines were selected for conducting overexpression and knockdown experiments targeting HSPA2, respectively. The cellular proliferation, cell clonogenesis, migration, and invasion capabilities were assessed using MTT, clonogenic assay, and Transwell assay, respectively. Additionally, the impact of HSPA2 on the expression of key markers of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was examined using the Western blot. The potential target molecules of HSPA2 were identified through immunoprecipitation assay and mass spectrometry. The rescue experiments further explored the regulatory relation between the HSPA2 and its target molecules. The influence of HSPA2 on pancreatic adenocarcinoma growth was investigated through establishment of xenograft tumor model in nude mice. ResultsThe HSPA2 exhibited the lowest expression in the PANC-1 cells and the highest expression in the AsPC-1 cells among the three cell lines. Subsequent functional studies demonstrated that the overexpression of HSPA2 in the PANC-1 cells markedly promoted proliferation, cell clonogenesis, migration, and invasion, while the knockdown of HSPA2 expression in the AsPC-1 cells markedly inhibited these processes. The Western blot analysis further showed that the HSPA2 overexpression downregulated E-cadherin expression and upregulated N-cadherin and Vimentin expressiones, whereas the HSPA2 knockdown produced opposite effects. The rescue experiments indicated that the HSPA2 promoted the EMT in pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells by upregulating Yes associated protein (YAP). The subcutaneous xenograft tumor experiments in the nude mice showed that the HSPA2 knockdown inhibited tumor growth. ConclusionThe results of this study suggest that HSPA2 promotes EMT via upregulating YAP, which facilitates proliferation, migration, and invasion of pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells.
ObjectiveTo explore the application value of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) in the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer.MethodThe domestic and foreign literatures about studies of HIFU treating advanced pancreatic cancer in recent years were retrieved and summarized.ResultsHIFU could prolong the survival time, control pain, and enhance the body’s immune function in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. There were no obvious serious complications during the treatment process. The combined treatment with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and traditional Chinese medicine could obviously prolong the survival time and improve the quality of life for the patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.ConclusionsHIFU is an important component in the comprehensive treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer. However, because there is no uniform standard for the dosage of HIFU treatment, the sample size of many related studies is small, so the research results have certain limitations, so more studies are needed to improve their understanding of advanced pancreatic cancer in order to better serve clinical workin future.