Ribonucleotide reductase M2 subunit silencing suppresses tumorigenesis in pancreatic cancer via inactivation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway

Background/objectives Ribonucleotide Reductase M2 subunit (RRM2) is elevated in pancreatic cancer and involved in DNA synthesis and cell proliferation. But its specific mechanism including genetic differences and upstream regulatory pathways remains unclear. Methods We analyzed RRM2 expression of 178 pancreatic cancer patients in Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database. Besides, more pancreatic cancer specimens were collected and detected RRM2 expression by immunohistochemistry. RRM2 knockdown by shRNA was applied for functional and mechanism analysis in vitro. Xenograft tumor growth was significantly slower by RRM2 silencing in vivo. Results It showed that high RRM2 expression had a poorer overall survival and disease free survival. RRM2 expression was higher in tumor grade 2 and 3 than grade 1. Immunohistochemistry data validated that high RRM2 expression predicted worse survival. RRM2 knockdown significantly reduced cell proliferation, inhibited colony formation and suppressed cell cycle progress. Further mechanism assay showed silencing RRM2 lead to inactivation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and inhibition of mutant p53, which induce S phase arrest and/or apoptosis. In panc-1 cells, S-phase arrest mediated by mutant p53 inhibition, p21 increase and cell cycle related proteins change. While in miapaca-2 cells, induction of apoptosis and S-phase arrest mediated by CDK1 played a coordinated role. Conclusion Taken together, high RRM2 expression was associated with worse prognosis. Importantly, RRM2 knockdown deactivated PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, resulting in cell cycle arrest and/or apoptosis. This study shed light on the molecular mechanism of RRM2 in pancreatic tumor progression and is expected to provide a new theoretical basis for pancreatic cancer treatment.