UVC irradiation suppresses platelet-derived growth factor-BB-induced migration in human pancreatic cancer cells

We have recently reported that short wavelength ultraviolet-C (UVC) irradiation inhibits cell growth and induces apoptosis in human pancreatic cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of UVC on platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB-induced migration in pancreatic cancer cells, AsPC1 and BxPC3. In cell migration assays using a Boyden chamber Transwell, PDGF-BB exerted a maximum effect on migration of these cells at a dose of 70 ng/ml after 36 h of treatment. PDGF-BB also caused phosphorylation of p44/p42 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun-N-terminal kinase (SAPK/JNK) and Akt, but not of p38 MAPK in these cells. Pretreatment of these cells with UVC at a dose over 10 J markedly suppressed PDGF-BB-induced migration. Since UVC significantly inhibited PDGF-BB-induced phosphorylation of Akt, and subsequent glycogen synthase kinase (GSK) 3β, but not p44/p42 MAPK and SAPK/JNK, it is likely that UVC inhibits PDGF-BB-induced migration by suppressing the Akt-GSK3β pathway in pancreatic cancer cells. Taken together with our previous findings, UVC could be a useful tool for the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer.