Role of transgelin-2 in diabetes-associated pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive malignancy with poor prognosis. Diabetes is a significant risk factor for PDAC and >50% of PDAC patients have concomitant diabetes. How diabetes influences the initiation and progression of PDAC remains elusive. Here, we show that transgelin-2 is dominantly expressed in PDAC tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. The high level of transgelin-2 indicates poor survival of patients with PDAC. Remarkably, transgelin-2 expression is correlated with diabetic status. Hyperinsulinemia is frequently observed in type 2 diabetes. Our results indicate that upregulation of transgelin-2 is induced by insulin via sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)-1-mediated transcription in PDAC cells. Transgelin-2 is a novel target of SREBP-1. Our data support a novel mechanism in diabetes-associated PDAC by which transgelin-2 mediates proliferation of PDAC cells upon insulin stimulation. The insulin/SREBP-1/transgelin-2 network should be further explored as a diagnostic marker or a novel therapeutic target for diabetes-associated PDAC.