effects of disulfiram on apoptosis in panc-1 human pancreatic cancer cell line

pancreatic carcinoma is currently considered as a rapidly progressive and fatal disease, and is typically diagnosed late in its natural course. it is characterized by a poor diagnosis and lack of response to conventional therapy. recent studies have suggested that disulfiram (dsf), a member of the dithiocarbamate family, may have antitumor activity. this study aimed to evaluate the in vitro effect of dsf on apoptosis in human pancreatic cancerous cell line (panc-1). panc-1  cells were cultured and treated with dsf at doses of 5, 10, 13 µm for 24 h and apoptosis was measured. methylation specific pcr (ms-pcr) and real-time quantitative pcr were carried out to detect the methylation pattern and to estimate the mrna expression levels of rassf1a, p21 and bax. ms-pcr analysis demonstrated that no unmethylated band was apeared in panc-1 cell line after dsf treatments. the real-time quantitative pcr results showed no significant mrna expression for rassf1a ( p> 0.05); whereas p21 and bax expression were significantly ( p< 0.01) enhanced after treatment with dsf. the results of the current study indicated that dsf can induce appoptosis in panc-1 through p21 and bax pathway but not through rassf1a.