Neferine induces apoptosis of pancreatic cancer cells through p38 MAPK/JNK activation

Purpose: To investigate the functional role of neferine on pancreatic cancer (PC) cell apoptosis. Methods: The pancreatic cell line, PANC-1 cells, was exposed with different concentration of neferine. CCK8 and flow cytometry (Cell counting kit-8) were carried out to detect cell proliferation and apoptosis. Protein expression was evaluated by western blot. Results: Neferine suppressed cell viability and caused cell cycle arrest of pancreatic cells in a dose-dependent way. The effect of neferine on pancreatic cells was dependent on its ability to regulate the expression of cyclin E, cyclin D1, p21, cleaved caspase-3, cleaved PARP, Bcl-2 and Bax. In addition, neferine treatment induced the apoptosis of PANC-1 cells via promoting the activation of p38 MAPK/JNK signaling pathway. Conclusions: Neferine inhibits cell viability and proliferation, and promotes apoptosis of PC cells by activating p38 MAPK/JNK signaling pathway. These results indicated the potential therapeutic effect of neferine in the treatment of PC.