Pancreatic cancer is one of the most recalcitrant and lethal of all cancers. We examined the effects of
Anemarrhena asphodeloides
(
AA
) and timosaponin‐
AIII
(
TAIII
), a steroidal saponin present in
AA
, on pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and aimed to elucidate their potential apoptotic mechanisms of action. Viability assays and cell cycle analysis revealed that both
AA
and
TAIII
significantly inhibited pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and cell cycle progression compared to treatment with gemcitabine, the standard chemotherapeutic agent for advanced pancreatic cancer. We identified a dose‐dependent increase in caspase‐dependent apoptosis and activation of pro‐apoptotic
PI
3K/Akt pathway proteins, with a subsequent downregulation of pro‐survival
PI
3K/Akt pathway proteins, in pancreatic cancer cells treated with
AA
or
TAIII
over those treated with gemcitabine.
HighlightsPANcreatic-DERived factor (PANDER) is a novel hormone regulating glucose levels.Fasting PANDER levels were measured in T2D and non-T2D matched subjects from U.S.Associations between PANDER and other hormones or metabolic parameters were examined.PANDER was associated with increased HbA1c and fasting blood glucose in T2D subjects.PANDER was not associated with adiponectin, HOMA-β and HOMA-IR.
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