In a PJS patient having a germline splice site mutation in the STK11/LKB1 gene, sequencing analysis of an intestinal polyp and pancreatic cancer from this patient revealed loss of the wild-type allele of the STK11/LKB1 gene in the cancer.
Germline mutations in BRCA2 have been shown to predispose to both breast and pancreatic cancer, germline mutations in p16 to melanoma and pancreatic cancer (the FAMMM syndrome), and genetic mutations in STK11/LKB1 to pancreatic cancer in patients with the Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome (PJS).
Germline inactivation of the gene LKB1/STK11 have been shown to cause Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) associated with a approximately 100-fold higher risk for the development of pancreatic cancer.
By confocal microscopy as well as biochemical fractionation, we demonstrate that LKB1 is present in the nuclear and mitochondrial compartments of pancreatic cancer cells.
Inactivation of LKB1 by mutations or loss of LKB1 expression is associated with ovarian, lung and pancreatic cancer; however, the correlation between LKB1 and esophageal carcinoma remains unknown.
Targeting the LKB1/FBXL14/Snail axis may represent a promising therapeutic strategy and metformin might be beneficial for PC therapy through activating the LKB1-mediated Snail ubiquitination pathway.
Collectively, our findings suggest that these novel SNPs in the LKB1-AMPK pathway genes may modify susceptibility to PanC, possibly by influencing gene expression.