Objective: To explore the effect of DAPT, a gamma-secretase inhibitor on the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells and its underlying mechanism.
Methods: Three human pancreatic cancer cell lines as AsPC-1, BxPC-3 and MIAPaCa-2 were employed for in vitro experiments. Cell proliferation was tested by CCK-8 and cell apoptosis was examined by Annexin V/PI staining after the treatment of various concentrations of DAPT at different time.
Results: DAPT of 100 micromol/L significantly inhibited the proliferation of these 3 cell lines from day 3 to 5. DAPT of 50 micromol/L inhibited the proliferation of BxPC-3 and MIAPaCa-2 cells from day 3 to 5, whereas the effect of inhibition was only observed at day 5 in AsPC-I cell. DAPT of 10 micromol/L inhibited the proliferation of BxPC-3 and MIAPaCa-2 cells at day 5, whereas no effect was found in AsPC-1. Flow cytometry test showed that cell apoptosis rate was higher in DAPT treatment groups compared with control group.
Conclusion: DAPT could suppress the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cell, with the mechanism of promoting cell apoptosis.