The antitumor effect of the novel agent MCL/ACT001 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a major challenge in cancer therapy, there are more than four hundred thousand deaths per year, and the 5-year survival rate is less than 10%. The incidence continues to rise. Treatment with classic drugs offers limited therapeutic benefits. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism and effect of the new agent ACT001, the active metabolite of Micheliolide (MCL), in vitro and in vivo against PDAC.MTT assay, wound healing assay, and flow cytometry were used to assess the effects of MCL/ACT001 in vitro. DCFH-DA assay was used to assess ROS accumulation. Western blotting, immunohistochemical staining and TUNEL assay were also conducted to determine the mechanisms. PANC-1-Luc cells and bioluminescent reporter imaging were used to assess antitumor effect of ACT001 using a orthotopic xenograft model in vivo.MCL/ACT001 significantly inhibited cell growth in PDAC in a dose-dependent manner, induced cell apoptosis, cell migration and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in vitro. In vivo, ACT001 (400 mg/kg/day) inhibited PDAC tumor growth in orthotopic xenograft mice. We verified that EGFR and Akt were markedly overexpressed in PDAC cells and patient tumors. Mechanistic investigations revealed that MCL exerted its antitumor activity via regulation of the EGFR-Akt-Bim signaling pathway, thus inducing Bim expression both in vitro and in vivo.MCL/ACT001 is a highly promising agent in the treatment of PDAC patients.