A novel activity from an old compound: Manzamine A reduces the metastatic potential of AsPC-1 pancreatic cancer cells and sensitizes them to TRAIL-induced apoptosis

摘要

PurposePancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and new drugs to treat the disease are needed. Pancreatic cancer cells are highly metastatic and exhibit resistance to apoptosis. Small molecules that can restore sensitivity to apoptosis or reduce metastasis would have therapeutic potential against this disease. Manzamine A is an alkaloid isolated from marine sponges that was suspected to have inhibitory activity against the mitogen activated kinase kinase (MEK). Because of this, the effects of Manzamine A were studied in pancreatic cancer cells.