Galectin-3 is modulated in pancreatic cancer cells under hypoxia and nutrient deprivation

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is one of the most aggressive tumors with a microenvironment marked by hypoxia and starvation. Galectin-3 has been evaluated in solid tumors and seems to present both pro/anti-tumor effects. So, this study aims to characterize the expression of Galectin-3 from pancreatic tumor cells and analyze its influence for cell survive and motility in mimetic microenvironment. For this, cell cycle and cell death were accessed through flow cytometry. Characterization of inside and outside Galectin-3 was performed through Real-Time Quantitative Reverse Transcription PCR (qRT-PCR), immunofluorescence, Western blot, and ELISA. Consequences of Galectin-3 extracellular inhibition were investigated using cell death and scratch assays. PANC-1 showed increased Galectin-3 mRNA expression when cultivated in hypoxia for 24 and 48 h. After 24 h in simultaneously hypoxic/deprived incubation, PANC-1 shows increased Galectin-3 protein and secreted levels. For Mia PaCa-2, cultivation in deprivation was determinant for the increasing in Galectin-3 mRNA expression. When cultivated in simultaneously hypoxic/deprived condition, Mia PaCa-2 also presented increasing for the Galectin-3 secreted levels. Treatment of PANC-1 cells with lactose increased the death rate when cells were incubated simultaneously hypoxic/deprived condition. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that the microenvironmental conditions modulate the Galectin-3 expression on the transcriptional and translational levels for pancreatic cancer cells.

High hypoxia status in pancreatic cancer is associated with multiple hallmarks of an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment

“…We demonstrated induction of LGALS3 gene expression in hypoxic BxPC3 cells and a trend towards increased expression in PANC-1 cells albeit not reaching statistical significance ( Figure 8 ). Our results are partially corroborated by an earlier study which showed LGALS3 expression in PANC-1 cells at 24h and 48h ( 88 ). Moreover, in the same year, Gonnermann et al.…”

Galectin-3 Expression in Pancreatic Cell Lines Under Distinct Autophagy-Inducing Stimulus

“…Gal-3 upregulation under hypoxic exposure has been reported for other tumors as breast (de Oliveira et al, 2015), thyroid (Zheng et al, 2017), and non-small-cell lung carcinoma (Kataoka et al, 2019). Previous results of our research group brought the upregulation of mRNA Gal-3 when PANC-1 cells undergone hypoxic incubation (da Silva Filho et al, 2020). The participation of Gal-3 in responses to extreme oxygen conditions seems to occur even in normal cells (Schunemann et al, 2007; Zeng et al, 2007; Doverhag et al, 2010).…”

Unveiling the potential of galectin-3 as a diagnostic biomarker for pancreatic cancer: a review

“…A study by da Silva Filho et al . 49 investigated the modulation of Gal-3 in pancreatic cancer cells under hypoxia and nutrient deprivation conditions. The researchers observed that Gal-3 expression and secretion were increased in pancreatic cancer cells exposed to hypoxic conditions.…”