Interferon-alpha modulates the chemosensitivity of CD133-expressing pancreatic cancer cells to gemcitabine.

ABSTRACT: Pancreatic cancer is a lethal disease as current chemotherapies with gemcitabine (GEM) are still insufficient. Accumulating evidence suggests that cancer stem cells (CSC) are responsible for chemoresistance and that CD133 is one of the CSC markers in pancreatic cancer. Interferon-alpha (IFN-α), a cytokine with pleiotropic effects, has direct cytotoxic and cytostatic effects on tumor cells. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether IFN-α can modulate the chemosensitivity of a human pancreatic cancer cell line, Capan-1, to GEM. Cell cycles were evaluated for response to GEM with and without IFN-α by BrdU assay. GEM inhibited Capan-1 cell growth in a dose-dependent manner. GEM (IC(50); 100 ng/mL) treatment reduced the number of both CD133(+) and CD133(-) cells in the S phase, in

SUBMITTER: Hayashi T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7659312 | biostudies-literature | 2012 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature