Gankyrin promotes the proliferation of human pancreatic cancer.

Previous studies in our laboratory have suggested that gankyrin expression is correlated with a malignant phenotype in colorectal cancer. Here, we investigated the possible role of gankyrin in pancreatic carcinogenesis. Gankyrin expression was significantly increased in pancreatic cancer compared to non-cancerous tissues. This expression significantly enhanced cancer cell proliferation and growth in vitro and in vivo. Suppression of gankyrin downregulated cyclin A, cyclin D1, cyclin E, CDK2, CDK4, PCNA and p-Rb but upregulated p27, Rb and p53. However, gankyrin overexpression led to opposite results. Thus, gankyrin could enhance pancreatic cancer cell proliferation by promoting cell cycle progression and p53 degradation. 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.