High Glucose-Induced ROS Production Stimulates Proliferation of Pancreatic Cancer via Inactivating the JNK Pathway

Aberrant glucose metabolism of diabetes mellitus or hyperglycemia stimulates pancreatic tumorigenesis and progression. Hyperglycemic environment can increase the ROS level of tumors, but the role of upregulation of ROS levels in pancreatic cancer (PC) still remains controversial. Here, the same as other reports, we demonstrate that high glucose promoted pancreatic cancer cell growth and resulted in an increase in the level of ROS. However, it is interesting that the phosphorylation of JNK was reduced. When treating PC cells with N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), the intracellular ROS generation is repressed, but the expression of phosphorylation of JNK and c-Jun increased. Moreover, the JNK inhibitor SP600125 significantly promoted cell proliferation and suppressed cell apoptosis of pancreatic cancer cells under high glucose conditions. Collectively, high levels of ROS induced by high glucose conditions stimulated the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells, and it may be achieved by inactivating the JNK pathway.