Mucin production determines sensitivity to bortezomib and gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer cells.

The prognosis of pancreatic cancer remains disappointing due to a high intrinsic resistance against chemotherapeutic agents. Standard gemcitabine therapies have improved overall survival only marginally and recently, inhibition of the proteasome by the boronic acid derivative bortezomib has been introduced as a novel therapeutic strategy for solid and hematological malignancies including pancreatic cancer. The mucus-producing pancreatic cancer cell line Capan-1 was cultured under standard conditions and treated with different concentrations of gemcitabine or bortezomib.