Abstract 1703: Nicotine-induced gemcitabine resistance is reversed by gamma-aminobutyric acid but enhanced by baclofen in pancreatic cancer xenografts and in pancreatic cancer cells in vitro

• Published in: Cancer research (Chicago, Ill.) Ill.), 2014-10, Vol.74 (19_Supplement), p.1703-1703
• Main Authors: Banerjee, Jheelam, Al-Wadei, Hussein A. N, Al-Wadei, Mohammed H., Dagnon, Koami, Schuller, Hildegard M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0008-5472; 1538-7445
• DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1703

Pancreatic cancer is frequently resistant to cancer therapeutics. Smoking and alcoholism are risk factors and pancreatic cancer patients often undergo nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and treatment for alcohol dependence. Based on our report that low dose nicotine within the range of NRT causes gemcitabine resistance in pancreatic cancer, our current study has tested the hypothesis that GABA or the selective GABA-B-R agonist baclofen used to treat alcohol dependence reverse nicotine-induced gemcitabine resistance in pancreatic cancer. Using pancreatic cancer cell lines BXPC-3 and PANC-1, our data show that GABA significantly reversed gemcitabine resistance induced by low dose nicotine in xenografts whereas baclofen did not. This effect of GABA was accompanied by decreases in cAMP, p-CREB, p-AKT, p-Src, p-ERK metalloproteinases-9 and -2 and EGR-1 and increases in cleaved caspase-3 in xenografts whereas baclofen had the opposite effects. In vitro exposure of cells to single doses or seven days of nicotine induced the protein expression of MMP-2, MMP-9 and EGR-1 and these responses were blocked by GABA. Baclofen downregulated the protein expression of GABA-B-Rs in xenograft tissues and in cells exposed to baclofen for seven days in vitro. This response was accompanied by inversed baclofen effects from inhibition of cAMP formation after single dose exposures to stimulation of cAMP formation in cells pretreated for seven days. These findings suggest GABA as a promising agent to overcome nicotine-induced gemcitabine resistance in pancreatic cancer whereas treatment of alcoholism by baclofen may increase gemcitabine resistance. Supported by grants RO1CA130888 and RO1CA042829 with the National Cancer Institute. Citation Format: Jheelam Banerjee, Hussein A. N Al-Wadei, Mohammed H. Al-Wadei, Koami Dagnon, Hildegard M. Schuller. Nicotine-induced gemcitabine resistance is reversed by gamma-aminobutyric acid but enhanced by baclofen in pancreatic cancer xenografts and in pancreatic cancer cells in vitro. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1703. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1703