Abstract A50: Inhibition of IL-8 production by pancreatic cancer cells with marine natural products.

Abstract

Abstract Pancreatic cancer presents one of the most negative prognoses of all cancers, as it has usually metastasized by the time a patient is diagnosed. Therefore, almost as many deaths as new cases are expected each year. Although combination therapy shows some promise, the need for new drugs to treat the disease is pressing. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) has developed a unique library of marine samples and its research program seeks to tap into the biological diversity of the oceans to find potential anti-cancer drugs. Inflammation has been connected to pancreatic cancer development and progression. A recent study has shown that IL-8 mediates the angiogenesis of tumors arising from Ras-mutations. Ras is a proto-oncogene that is mutationally activated in 90% of pancreatic adenocarcinomas. Overexpression of IL-8 in pancreatic tumors is thought to promote tumor angiogenesis and to activate survival signaling pathways. Given our interest in finding new therapies for pancreatic cancer, we set up a 96-well cell-based assay to screen our library of marine natural products for those with the ability to inhibit IL-8 production by pancreatic cancer cells. A thousand fractions were screened resulting in the identification of marine natural products with the ability to inhibit IL-8 secretion by the BxPC-3 pancreatic cancer cell line. Studies are currently underway to determine if this inhibition leads to an inhibition in angiogenesis or affects cell proliferation. Citation Format: Esther A. Guzman, Tara Pitts, Amy E. Wright. Inhibition of IL-8 production by pancreatic cancer cells with marine natural products. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Immunology: Multidisciplinary Science Driving Basic and Clinical Advances; Dec 2-5, 2012; Miami, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(1 Suppl):Abstract nr A50.