Transcriptome analysis of piperlongumine-treated human pancreatic cancer cells reveals involvement of oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress pathways

Harsharan Dhillon, Sujan Mamidi, Phillip Mcclean, Katie M. Reindl

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

15 Scopus citations

Abstract

Piperlongumine (PL), an alkaloid obtained from long peppers, displays antitumorigenic properties for a variety of human cell- and animal-based models. The aim of this study was to identify the underlying molecular mechanisms for PL anticancer effects on human pancreatic cancer cells. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was used to identify the effects of PL on the transcriptome of MIA PaCa-2 human pancreatic cancer cells. PL treatment of pancreatic cancer cells resulted in differential expression of 683 mRNA transcripts with known protein functions, 351 of which were upregulated and 332 of which were downregulated compared to control-treated cells. Transcripts associated with oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and unfolded protein response pathways were significantly overexpressed with PL treatment. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting were used to validate the RNA-seq results, which included upregulation of HO-1, IRE1α, cytochrome c, and ASNS. The results provide key insight into the mechanisms by which PL alters cancer cell physiology and identify that activation of oxidative stress and ER stress pathways is a critical avenue for PL anticancer effects.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)578-585
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Medicinal Food
Volume19
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • ER stress
  • RNA sequencing
  • oxidative stress
  • pancreatic cancer
  • piperlongumine
  • transcriptomics

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Nutrition and Dietetics

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