Erianin Suppresses Pancreatic Cancer Progression by Inducing Cell Cycle Arrest and Ferroptosis

Xiao Qu,1 Bin He,2 Yaohui Zhang,1 Li Hang,3 Ping Lu2 1Department of Gastroenterology, Zhangjiagang Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, Zhangjiagang, People’s Republic of China; 2Zhangjiagang Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, Zhangjiagang, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Gastroenterology, Zhangjiagang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhangjiagang, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Ping Lu, Email [email protected]: Pancreatic cancer is a highly aggressive malignancy with limited therapeutic options and poor prognosis. Erianin, a natural product, has shown anti-cancer properties in various malignancies, but its effects on pancreatic cancer and the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood.Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the anti-tumor effects of erianin on pancreatic cancer cells and to explore the regulatory mechanisms involved.Methods: PANC-1 and ASPC-1 pancreatic cancer cells were treated with erianin at different concentrations. Cell viability and proliferation were assessed using the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and colony formation assay. Cell cycle distribution was analyzed by flow cytometry. Ferroptosis was evaluated by measuring levels of Fe²⁺, total iron, and lipid reactive oxygen species (ROS). Western blotting was used to detect the expression of cell cycle regulators and ferroptosis-related proteins.Results: Erianin significantly suppressed pancreatic cancer cell viability and proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. It induced G0/G1 phase arrest, accompanied by downregulation of cyclin D1 and cyclin A. Furthermore, erianin promoted ferroptosis, as evidenced by increased Fe²⁺, total iron, and lipid ROS levels, along with reduced glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) and solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11) expression. The ferroptosis inhibitor Ferrostatin-1 reversed these effects, validating ferroptosis as a critical mechanism in erianin’s anti-cancer activity.Conclusion: Erianin exerts potent anti-tumor effects on pancreatic cancer cells by inducing cell cycle arrest and ferroptosis. These findings establish erianin as a promising therapeutic candidate for pancreatic cancer treatment.Keywords: erianin, ferroptosis, cell cycle, pancreatic cancer