Inhibitory effects of docosahexaenoic acid on the growth of incubated human pancreatic cancer cell lines

Objective To investigate the effects of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on the growth of human pancreatic cancer cell lines. Methods Human pancreatic cancer cell lines Patu8988 and SW1990 were treated with DHA. The cell proliferation was evaluated by MTT assay. Cell cycle, apoptosis, and cyclooxygenase-2 ex-pression were evaluated by flow cytometry. Results After incubation of pancreatic cancer cell with DHA for 24 to 72 hours, cell proliferation significantly decreased (P<0. 01) and apoptosis increased, both of which were time- dependent and dose-dependent After incubation with 50μg/ml DHA for 24 hours, cyclooxygenase-2 expression of pancreatic cancer cell lines significantly decreased (P < 0. 05). Conclusions DHA can inhibit the growth of hu- man pancreatic cancer cells via decreasing cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis. These effects may be associat- ed with the decrease of cyclooxygenase-2 expression. Key words: Docosahexaenic acid;  Pancreatic cancer;  Cell apoptosis;  Cyclooxygenase-2