α-Bisabolol Inhibits Invasiveness and Motility in Pancreatic Cancer Through KISS1R Activation.

α-Bisabolol is a plant-derived, oily sesquiterpene alcohol that induces apoptosis of various cancer cells. We previously reported the antiproliferative effects of α-bisabolol on pancreatic cancer cell lines using in vitro and in vivo experiments. However, the effects of α-bisabolol on tumor invasiveness and motility are still unknown. In this study, demonstrated that α-bisabolol suppressed the invasiveness and motility of a pancreatic cancer cell line. Although Early growth response 1 (EGR1) was involved in antiproliferative effects of α-bisabolol, it had no relationship with the inhibitory effect of α-bisabolol on cellular invasiveness and motility. Polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that α-bisabolol induced Kisspeptin 1 receptor (KISS1R) in pancreatic cancer cell lines. The inhibition of KISS1R weakened the inhibitory effect of α-bisabolol on invasiveness of pancreatic cancer cells. The results also implied that the inhibitory effects of α-bisabolol on tumor invasiveness and motility are at least partly associated with the activation of KISS1R. However, there is a possibility that other molecular mechanisms of α-bisabolol regulate invasiveness and motility in pancreatic cancer cells. Further investigations are necessary to clarify the precise mechanisms of α-bisabolol activity for clinical application as a novel treatment for pancreatic cancer. Copyright