Activation of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor inhibits growth and promotes apoptosis of human pancreatic cancer cells in a cAMP-dependent manner.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) promotes pancreatic β-cell regeneration through GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) activation. However, whether it promotes exocrine pancreas growth and thereby increases the risk of pancreatic cancer has been a topic of debate in recent years. Clinical data and animal studies published so far have been controversial. In the present study, we report that GLP-1R activation with liraglutide inhibited growth and promoted apoptosis in human pancreatic cancer cell lines in vitro and attenuated pancreatic tumor growth in a mouse xenograft model in vivo. These effects of liraglutide were mediated through activation of cAMP production and consequent inhibition of Akt and ERK1/2 signaling pathways in a GLP-1R-dependent manner. Moreover, we examined GLP-1R expression in human pancreatic cancer tissues and found that 43.3% of tumor tissues were GLP-1R-null. In the GLP-1R-positive tumor tissues (56.7%), the level of GLP-1R was lower compared with that in tumor-adjacent normal pancreatic tissues. Furthermore, the GLP-1R-positive tumors were significantly smaller than the GLP-1R-null tumors. Our study shows for the first time that GLP-1R activation has a cytoreductive effect on human pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and in vivo, which may help address safety concerns of GLP-1-based therapies in the context of human pancreatic cancer.