Mechanisms of triptolide's anti-pancreatic cancer effects through inhibition of autophagy and extracellular matrix activation

Pancreatic cancer is characterized by high mortality and poor treatment.Triptolide, a natural compound derived from the traditional Chinese medicine Thunder God Vine, has shown anti-tumor activity in various cancers. This study aimed to investigate the impact of triptolide on the growth of pancreatic cancer cells and the activation of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). The findings demonstrated that triptolide effectively inhibited the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells and the activation of CAFs. Further investigations revealed that triptolide suppressed autophagy and induced apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells by inhibiting the secretion of CXCL1. Additionally, it inhibited tumor cell stroma formation by suppressing the paracrine secretion of TGF-ß1. In conclusion, triptolide exerted its inhibitory effects on pancreatic cancer cell growth and stromal cell activation through the inhibition of CXCL1 and TGF-ß1. Overall design: The NC group cultured Miapaca-2 cells in DMEM medium containing 10% FBS for 24 hours, while the control group treated Miapaca-2 cells with 10nM triptolide for 24 hours to evaluate the changes in MRNA transcription in the control group compared to the NC group