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Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor is a proliferation and survival factor for pancreatic cancer cells

Clinical and Translational Oncology volume 17, pages 314–321 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Objectives

A variety of inflammatory cytokines have been demonstrated to participate in tumorigenesis and progression. Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) has been demonstrated to show a broad-spectrum of anti-inflammatory effects. This study investigates the expression of SLPI in human pancreatic cancer tissues and cells as well as its biological effects in human pancreatic cancer cells.

Methods

Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, and Western blot were used to detect SLPI mRNA and protein levels in human pancreatic cancer tissues, adjacent tissues, and pancreatic cancer Bxpc-3 and Panc-1 cells. Knockout of SLPI expression was established by recombinant viral vector expressing short hairpin RNA (shRNA) targeting SLPI. Cell viability was analyzed by MTT assay. Cell apoptosis was detected by Hochest33258 staining and flow cytometry assay.

Results

Higher SLPI expression was observed in pancreatic tissues, Bxpc-3 cells, and Panc-1 cells compared to the peritumoral tissues (p < 0.01). SLPI expression in Bxpc-3 and Panc-1 cells was effectively silenced by shRNA (p < 0.001). Silencing of SLPI expression significantly reduced cell viability, inhibited cell proliferation, and induced cell apoptosis (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Abnormal over-expression of SLPI in pancreatic cancer cells may be associated with the development of disease through its roles in promoting cancer cell survival and proliferation as well as anti-apoptosis. SLPI can be used as a target for developing targeted therapy of pancreatic cancer.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by National Basic Research Program of China (2010CB833605), Incubation Program for National Natural Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholar of Central South University and Open-End Fund for the Valuable and Precision Instruments of Central South University for financial supports.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Department of Stomatology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China

    J. Zuo, D. Pang, Y. Li, X. Xie & Z. Tang

  2. Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, China

    C. Zhang & C. Ren

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China

    X. Jiang

Authors
  1. J. Zuo
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  2. C. Zhang
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  3. C. Ren
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  4. D. Pang
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  5. Y. Li
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  6. X. Xie
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  7. Z. Tang
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  8. X. Jiang
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Z. Tang or X. Jiang.

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Zuo, J., Zhang, C., Ren, C. et al. Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor is a proliferation and survival factor for pancreatic cancer cells. Clin Transl Oncol 17, 314–321 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-014-1232-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-014-1232-4

Keywords

  • SLPI
  • Expression levels
  • shRNA
  • Pancreatic cancer