Anti-pancreatic cancer effects of a polar extract from the edible sea cucumber, Cucumaria frondosa.

Objectives: To investigate the effects and mechanism of Frondanol-A5P, a polar extract from Cucumaria frondosa, on growth inhibition and apoptosis in S2013 and AsPC-1 human pancreatic cancer cells.

Methods: The effects of Frondanol-A5P on proliferation, cell cycle, expression of cell cycle proteins and p21, phosphorylation of MAP kinases, annexin V binding, and caspase-3 activation were examined.

Results: Frondanol-A5P inhibited proliferation and induced G2/M phase cell cycle arrest in both cell lines with decreased expression of cyclin A, cyclin B, and cdc25c.

On the role of transforming growth factor-beta in the growth inhibitory effects of retinoic acid in human pancreatic cancer cells.

Background: Retinoids are potent growth inhibitory and differentiating agents in a variety of cancer cell types. We have shown that retinoids induce growth arrest in all pancreatic cancer cell lines studied, regardless of their p53 and differentiation status. However, the mechanism of growth inhibition is not known.