Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 14, 2015; 21(46): 13004-13019
Published online Dec 14, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i46.13004
HuR mediated post-transcriptional regulation as a new potential adjuvant therapeutic target in chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer
Aldona Jakstaite, Aurelija Maziukiene, Giedre Silkuniene, Kristina Kmieliute, Antanas Gulbinas, Zilvinas Dambrauskas
Aldona Jakstaite, Aurelija Maziukiene, Giedre Silkuniene, Kristina Kmieliute, Antanas Gulbinas, Zilvinas Dambrauskas, Institute for Digestive System Research, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, 50161 Kaunas, Lithuania
Antanas Gulbinas, Zilvinas Dambrauskas, Department of Surgery, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, 50161 Kaunas, Lithuania
Author contributions: Jakstaite A carried out the molecular RT-PCR studies and drafted the manuscript; Silkuniene G performed the western blot analysis; Maziukiene A maintained cell cultures and did the transfection experiments; Kmieliute K carried out the microscopic analysis; Dambrauskas Z designed and planned the study and performed the statistical data analysis; Gulbinas A conceived the study, participated in its design and coordination, and helped to draft the manuscript; All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by The European Social Fund under the Global Grant measure.
Institutional review board statement: Ethical approval was issued by the Ethics Committee of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (Nr. BE-2-10 and BE-2-17).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Aldona Jakstaite, Institute for Digestive System Research, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eiveniu str. 4, 50161 Kaunas, Lithuania. aldona.jakstaite@gmail.com
Telephone: +370-37-60880820
Received: March 4, 2015
Peer-review started: March 5, 2015
First decision: April 24, 2015
Revised: May 9, 2015
Accepted: August 28, 2015
Article in press: August 31, 2015
Published online: December 14, 2015
Core Tip

Core tip: The mRNA binding protein HuR is normally located in the nucleus and is activated by specific stressors. HuR has been reported to regulate the expression of many proteins by different post-transcriptional mechanisms, including mRNA trafficking, mRNA stabilization, and protein translation. HuR is also involved in the post-transcriptional modification of cytoprotective molecules, such as cyclooxygenase-2 and heme oxygenase-1, which may be related to the increased resistance of pancreatic cancer to chemotherapy. HuR silencing significantly increases the effectiveness of gemcitabine treatment in vitro.