| dc.description.abstract | Pancreatic cancer is the 13th most common types of cancer and has a poor prognosis of survival. Therefore, it is important further investigate different drugs, especially already well- establish medicaments response in regard to treatment for this particular cancer type. The well-established diabetic type II drugs metformin and phenformin are metabolic drugs that can and may be used for cancer treatment. Cancer cells alter their metabolism in order to support their rapid proliferation, whereas both metformin and phenformin makes metabolic changes that causes stops the cancer cell growth process, mainly by their ability to cross the cell membrane. Organic cation transporter 1 (OCT1) are one of the biomarkers being linked to metformin and phenformin import into the tumor cell. The aim for this thesis is the assess both the toxicity, as well as assessing the OCT1 expression when pancreatic cancer cells are being treated with metformin and phenformin.
A dose repose assay was conducted for two pancreatic cancer cell lines, MIA PaCa-2 and Panc-1. The Cell counting kit -8 (CCK8) assay was conducted with different concentration of metformin and phenformin, as well as a rapid response and slower response (6 hours and 24 hours). Although the assay did not give concluding values, it shows implementing changes. Assessing OCT1 expression using flow cytometry gave no clear expression of OCT1 in both cell lines and the aim shifted to troubleshoot both the protocol and theory, before further conduction drug treatment. Both by assessing other biomarkers which are important in tumorigenesis, Akt and AMPK, and the staining using propidium iodine. | |
