Fig. 7

Effect of ERK inhibitor PD98059 on glycolysis and GEM sensitivity in PCCs. PCCs pre-incubated for 72 h with three different PSC-CMs (PSC-1, PSC-2, and HPaSteC) were assessed for A expression of pERK/ERK, B extracellular lactate release, following treatment with PD98059, C cytotoxicity following treatment with GEM or GEM + PD98059, and D, E expression of indicated markers following treatment with PD98059. Vinculin (A, D) and GAPDH (B) were used as a loading control. For B, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 comparing SFM vs PSC-CMs and #p < 0.05, ^##p < 0.01 comparing DMSO vs PD98059 treated. For C **p < 0.01 comparing GEM vs GEM + PD98059. Data presented as mean ± SEM of three replicates in each PSC-CM. LDHA lactate dehydrogenase A, MCT4 monocarboxylate transporter 4, PKM2 pyruvate kinase M2, PCCs pancreatic cancer cells, PSCs pancreatic stellate cells