Hyperglycemia enhances pancreatic cancer progression accompanied by elevations in phosphorylated STAT3 and MYC levels

PLoS One. 2020 Jul 1;15(7):e0235573. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235573. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a well-known risk factor for pancreatic cancer. We focused on hyperglycemia, a main feature of diabetes mellitus, and uncovered its effect on precancerous pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) progression. In vivo induction of hyperglycemia with 100 mg/kg streptozotocin in KrasLSL G12D Pdx1Cre (KP) mice promoted the PanIN formation and progression. Preconditioning with a high- or low-glucose medium for 28 days showed that a high-glucose environment increased cell viability and sphere formation in PANC-1, a Kras-mutant human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cell line, and mPKC1, a Kras-mutant murine pancreatic cancer cell line. In contrast, no changes were observed in BxPC3, a Kras-wild-type human pancreatic cancer cell line. Orthotopic injection of mPKC1 into the pancreatic tails of BL6/J mice showed that cells maintained in high-glucose medium grew into larger tumors than did those maintained in low-glucose medium. Hyperglycemia strengthened the STAT3 phosphorylation, which was accompanied by elevated MYC expression in Kras-mutant cells. Immunohistochemistry showed stronger phosphorylated STAT3 (pSTAT3) and MYC staining in PanINs from diabetic KP mice than in those from euglycemic counterparts. STAT3 inhibition with 1 μM STAT3 inhibitor STATTIC in Kras-mutant pancreatic cell lines blocked the cell viability- and sphere formation-enhancing effects of the hyperglycemic environment and reversed the elevated pSTAT3 and MYC expression. MYC knockdown did not affect cell viability but did reduce sphere formation. No decrease in pSTAT3 expression was observed upon siMYC treatment. In conclusion, hyperglycemia, on a Kras-mutant background, aggravates the PanIN progression, which is accompanied by elevated pSTAT3 and MYC expression.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Survival
  • Disease Progression*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Glucose / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Hyperglycemia / complications*
  • Mice
  • Mutation
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / complications*
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / genetics
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / pathology
  • Phosphorylation
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc / metabolism*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras) / genetics
  • STAT3 Transcription Factor / metabolism*

Substances

  • KRAS protein, human
  • MYC protein, human
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc
  • STAT3 Transcription Factor
  • STAT3 protein, human
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras)
  • Glucose

Grants and funding

This work was partly supported by JSPS KAKENHI (17k09422 to M.S. and 19k17431 to K.S.). The funder did not play any role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. https://www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-grants/index.html.