Crucial microRNAs and genes in metformin’s anti-pancreatic cancer effect explored by microRNA-mRNA integrated analysis

Despite great improvements in surgical procedures and chemotherapy, pancreatic cancer remains one of the most aggressive and fatal human malignancies, with a low 5-year survival rate. Therefore, novel therapeutic strategies for the prevention and treatment of pancreatic cancer are urgently needed. The present study aimed to investigate the mechanisms by which metformin exerts its anticancer effects on the microRNA-mRNA interactions in human pancreatic cancer. Microarray and systematic analyses revealed that the anti-pancreatic cancer effects of metformin were correlated with 3 up-regulated microRNAs and 4 of their target mRNAs. In addition, the microarray and systematic analyses ultimately demonstrated that 3 microRNAs regulated 4 key mRNAs in a sub-pathway of pancreatic cancer and then affected growth, angiogenesis, and apoptosis. This finding may provide a deeper understanding of the mechanisms by which metformin suppresses proliferation and angiogenesis and promotes apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells. Collectively, this experiment improves the understanding of the mechanisms by which metformin suppresses pancreatic cancer and indicates that metformin, the most commonly used drug for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, may be a promising candidate agent for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.