Objective To investigate the effect of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) on the biological behavior of pancreatic cancer cells and its possible mechanism. Methods The cells were divided into a control group and an experimental group. The experimental group was divided into 4 subgroups according to the concentration of BH4 (2 μM, 4 μM, 8 μM, 12 μM BH4 groups). The ability of cell proliferation, apoptosis and migration were detected by CCK-8 assay, Hoechst assay and scratch assay. The expression of Notch1 mRNA was detected by RT-qPCR and the expressions of E-cadherin and N-cadherin were detected by Western blotting. Results Compared with the control group, with the increasing of BH4 concentration, the activity and migration ability of HPAC and Bxpc-3 cell decreased and the apoptosis rate increased, and the effect of BH4 was significant at 8 μM and 12 μM (P<0.01，P<0.05). Compared with the control group, Notch1 mRNA was significantly decreased in experimental group (BH4 12 μM) (P<0.05), the expression level of E-cadherin increased (P<0.01, P<0.05) , while that of N-cadherin decreased (P<0.05). Conclusions BH4 can inhibit the proliferation, migration and promote the apoptosis of pancreatic cancer cells. The mechanism may be related to the inhibition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process, while Notch1 changes during EMT. It suggests that the Notch1 signaling pathway may be involved in the regulation of this process.
Ma Wenting, Zhang Chen, Xie Qing
. Effects of BH4 on proliferation, migration and apoptosis of pancreatic cancer cells[J]. Chinese Journal of Clinical Anatomy, 2023
, 41(6)
: 704
-708
.
DOI: 10.13418/j.issn.1001-165x.2023.6.13
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