Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Growing Desmoplastic Three-Dimensional Pancreatic Cancer Spheroids from Co-Culture
Published on: September 27, 2024
Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-5 influences pancreatic cancer cell growth
Sarah K Johnson1, Randy S Haun
1Department of Pathology,Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, University ofArkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas 72205, USA.
Aim:
To investigate the functional significance of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-5 (IGFBP-5) overexpression in pancreatic cancer (PaC).
Methods:
The effects of IGFBP-5 on cell growth were assessed by stable transfection of BxPC-3 and PANC-1 cell lines and measuring cell number and DNA synthesis. Alterations in the cell cycle were assessed by flow cytometry and immunoblot analyses. Changes in cell survival and signal transduction were evaluated after mitogen activated protein kinase and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor treatment.
Results:
After serum deprivation, IGFBP-5 expression increased both cell number and DNA synthesis in BxPC-3 cells, but reduced cell number in PANC-1 cells. Consistent with this observation, cell cycle analysis of IGFBP-5-expressing cells revealed accelerated cell cycle progression in BxPC-3 and G2/M arrest of PANC-1 cells. Signal transduction analysis revealed that Akt activation was increased in BxPC-3, but reduced in PANC-1 cells that express IGFBP-5. Inhibition of PI3K with LY294002 suppressed extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1 and -2 (ERK1/2) activation in BxPC-3, but enhanced ERK1/2 activation in PANC-1 cells that express IGFBP-5. When MEK1/2 was blocked, Akt activation remained elevated in IGFBP-5 expressing PaC cells; however, inhibition of PI3K or MEK1/2 abrogated IGFBP-5-mediated cell survival.
Conclusion:
These results indicate that IGFBP-5 expression affects the cell cycle and survival signal pathways and thus it may be an important mediator of PaC cell growth.
More Related Videos
06:25Ex Vivo Culture of Circulating Tumor Cells in the Cerebral Spinal Fluid from Melanoma Patients to Study Melanoma-Associated Leptomeningeal Disease
Published on: March 29, 2024
06:35A Mouse Model to Investigate the Role of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts in Tumor Growth
Published on: December 22, 2020
Related Concept Videos
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
Mitogens and the Cell Cycle
PI3K/mTOR/AKT Signaling Pathway
Regulation of Angiogenesis and Blood Supply
Insulin: The Receptor and Signaling Pathways
Insulin Secretory Vesicles