Adrenomedullin is expressed in pancreatic cancer and stimulates cell proliferation and invasion in an autocrine manner via the adrenomedullin receptor, ADMR.

The current study investigated adrenomedullin as a potential autocrine regulator of pancreatic cancer cell function. Adrenomedullin was localized in the neoplastic epithelium of 90% (43 of 48) of human pancreatic adenocarcinomas analyzed by immunohistochemistry and was expressed by 100% (8 of 8) of pancreatic cancer cell lines analyzed by reverse transcription-PCR. Pancreatic cancer cell lines also secreted adrenomedullin into the culture medium as determined by ELISA (5 of 5). Exogenous adrenomedullin treatment of Panc-1, BxPC3, and MPanc96 cells in vitro stimulated cell proliferation, invasion, and nuclear factor kappaB activity, indicating the ability of the cells to respond to adrenomedullin. Treatment of the cell cultures with an adrenomedullin antagonist inhibited basal levels of proliferation and nuclear factor kappaB activity, supporting the autocrine function of this molecule. Furthermore, increasing adrenomedullin levels by gene transfer to Panc-1 cells increased, whereas adrenomedullin small hairpin RNA silencing in MPanc96 cells inhibited tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Adrenomedullin is able to act through at least two different receptors, adrenomedullin receptor (ADMR) and calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CRLR). Reverse transcription-PCR and Western blotting indicated that pancreatic cancer cells expressed only ADMR but not CRLR. In contrast, cells found in the tumor microenvironment, primary human pancreatic stellate and endothelial (HUVEC) cells, expressed both ADMR and CRLR. Small hairpin RNA silencing of ADMR in pancreatic cancer cells blocked adrenomedullin-induced growth and invasion, indicating that this receptor is involved in the autocrine actions of adrenomedullin. These data indicate that adrenomedullin acting via ADMR increases the aggressiveness of pancreatic cancer cells and suggests that these molecules may be useful therapeutic targets.