Fig. 2

Inhibition of MAPK-signaling pathway represses expression of LIF. a Representative western blots showing the amounts of LIF, phosphorylated ERK and phosphorylated AKT in Panc1.0 cells. Inhibition of the MAPK-signaling pathway by small molecules selumetinib, GSK-1120212, and PD0325901 suppressed the expression of LIF, whereas inhibiting the activity of AKT by MK-2206 did not. The inhibitory efficiency of the small molecules was confirmed by the phosphorylation levels of AKT at S-473 and the phosphorylation of ERK. The cells were treated with compounds for 48 h before harvested for western blot analysis. b Growth of Panc1.0 in 2D and 3D culture suppressed by MEK inhibitors, GSK-1120212, or PD0325901 at 1 µM. The suppression of growth can be rescued by adding LIF in culture medium. Crystal violet staining was used to visualize cell growth in 2D culture. Sphere formation assay was used to determine the growth in 3D (N = 6; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001). Error bar represents the standard deviation and P-value was generated by t-test