title: Transient silencing of galectin-3 expression promotes both in vitro and in vivo drug-induced apoptosis of human pancreatic carcinoma cells.
abstract: Pancreatic cancer demonstrates a strong resistance to anticancer drugs, presumably due to its resistance to drug induced apoptosis. Although gemcitabine (GEM) might be partially effective for treating advanced pancreatic cancer, its efficacy is still less than satisfactory. Galectin-3 (gal-3), a member of the β-galactoside-binding protein family, is a multifunctional protein with roles in tumor cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, angiogenesis, metastasis, and apoptosis. We have utilized gal-3 small interfering RNA (siRNA) to probe whether gal-3 regulates anticancer drug-induced apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells. We found that Gal-3 siRNA augmented GEM- and cisplatin-induced apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cell lines in vitro. Mitochondrial depolarization induction was increased in gal-3-silenced cells after GEM treatment, resulting in activation of caspase-9, but not caspase-8. Akt phosphorylation was significantly downregulated in gal-3- silenced cells in association with apoptosis. Moreover, intratumoral administration of gal-3 siRNA increased the GEM sensitivity of tumor xenografts produced by subcutaneous inoculation of pancreatic cancer cells into nude mice. These results suggest that gal-3 might provide a novel therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgical Science, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Showa-machi, Maebashi, Japan. tkobaya@med.gunma-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Tatsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimura
authors.forename: Toshiki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yajima
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kubo
authors.forename: Kenichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Araki
authors.forename: Wataru
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wada
authors.forename: Soichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsutsumi
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuwano
authors.forename: Avraham
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D003841:Deoxycytidine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D005260:Female; D037502:Galectin 3 / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D034622:RNA Interference; D014162:Transfection; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D000093542:Gemcitabine
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D037502:Galectin 3; D003841:Deoxycytidine; D000093542:Gemcitabine