Down-regulation of the nuclear factor-kappaB by lidamycin in association with inducing apoptosis in human pancreatic cancer cells and inhibiting xenograft growth.

Pancreatic cancer is now one of the most common causes of cancer death worldwide. K-ras mutations are present in up to 90% of pancreatic cancer cases. The expression of mutant K-ras activates the Akt/protein kinase B pathway, resulting in the activation of the nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) transcriptional factor. Constitutive NF-kappaB activity plays a key role in pancreatic carcinoma. NF-kappaB has been shown to inhibit apoptosis in response to chemotherapeutic agents. In the present study, the effects of lidamycin (LDM), a member of the enediyne antibiotic family, were investigated on two established pancreatic cell lines, PANC-1 and SW1990. A dose-dependent inhibition of phospho-Akt and NF-kappaB activation was found in the cells treated with LDM as determined by Western blot analysis. Moreover, a down-regulation of K-ras mRNA and a protein expression by LDM were observed in both cell lines as determined by reverse transcription-PCR and Western blot analysis. By MTT assay, a remarkable difference in chemosensitivity to LDM, mitomycin, adriamycin, taxol, and gemcitabine was found in both cell lines. The IC50 values of LDM for the PANC-1 or SW1990 cells were 0.955+/-0.414 or 0.426+/-0.212 nM, respectively, lower than those of the other drugs. Growth inhibition, apoptosis induction and cell cycle arrest were observed in the LDM-treated cells. LDM decreased the invasive potential of pancreatic cancer cells by reducing matrix metalloproteinase-9 activity. Furthermore, LDM was found to suppress the growth of SW1990 xenografts in nude mice. Treatment with an i.v. injection of LDM at the dose of 0.02 and 0.04 mg/kg (once a week for two weeks) inhibited the growth of xenografts by 66 and 72%, respectively. By contrast, an i.p. injection of gemcitabine at the dose of 80 mg/kg inhibited the growth of xenografts by 38%. Our findings suggest that LDM is active in the down-regulation of NF-kappaB and could play a positive role in relevant targeted chemotherapy for pancreatic carcinoma.