Work

Exploring the therapeutic potential of simvastatin in pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms: insights into cell cycle regulation and apoptosis

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Background: Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm (pNEN) poses significant challenges in clinical management due to their heterogeneity and limited treatment options. In this study, we investigated the potential of simvastatin (SIM) as an anti-tumor agent in pNEN. Methods: experiments using a mouse xenograft model. Additionally, we investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms by analyzing changes in cell cycle progression, apoptosis, and signaling pathways. Results: , and led to G1 phase arrest in QGP-1 cells. In contrast, SIM affected both the G1-S and G2-M phase transitions in the BON-1 cell line and induced apoptosis, indicating diverse mechanisms of action. Furthermore, SIM treatment resulted in decreased expression of mutant p53 (mutp53) in BON-1 cells, suggesting a potential therapeutic strategy targeting mutp53. Modulation of the MAPK pathway was also implicated in QGP-1 cells. Conclusions: Our study highlights SIM as a promising candidate for pNEN treatment by inducing cell cycle arrest or apoptosis, potentially through the p53 and MAPK pathways. Further research is warranted to fully elucidate SIM's mechanisms of action and evaluate its therapeutic potential in clinical settings.

Source: Translational Cancer Research

DOI: 10.21037/tcr-24-363