Memo: Is Peroxynitrite a Mediator of Survival and Aggressive Growth in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma?

There are a number of reports that NADPH oxidase activity is elevated in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAs), or cell lines derived therefrom, and that the resultant production of superoxide protects the cancer from apoptosis. Recently, Du and colleagues have reported that oncogenic mutants of K-Ras – expressed in over 90% of such cancers – promote NADPH oxidase activity via induction of Nox2. In other PDA cell lines, Nox2 has not been detected, but other isoforms of NADPH oxidase, such as Nox4, are expressed. Growth factors for PDAs have been shown to boost their NADPH oxidase activity.