Cuproplasia, or
copper-dependent cell proliferation, has been observed in varieties of solid
tumors along with aberrant
copper homeostasis. Several studies reported good response of patients to
copper chelator assisted
neoadjuvant chemotherapy, however, the internal target molecules are still undetermined. Unravel
copper-associated
tumor signaling would be valuable to forge new links to translate biology of
copper into clinical
cancer therapies. We evaluated the significance of high-affinity
copper transporter-1 (CTR1) by bioinformatic analysis, and in 19 pairs of clinical specimens. Then, with the help of gene interference and
chelating agent, enriched signaling pathways were identified by KEGG analysis and immunoblotting. Accompanying
biological capability of
pancreatic carcinoma-associated proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis, and angiogenesis were investigated. Furthermore, a combination of mTOR inhibitor and CTR1 suppressor has been assessed in xenografted
tumor mouse models. Hyperactive CTR1 was investigated in
pancreatic cancer tissues and proven to as the key point of
cancer copper homeostasis. Intracellular
copper deprivation induced by CTR1 gene knock-down or systematic
copper chelation by
tetrathiomolybdate suppressed proliferation and angiogenesis of
pancreatic cancer cell. PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway was suppressed by inhibiting the activation of p70(S6)K and p-AKT, and finally inhibited
mTORC1 and
mTORC2 after
copper deprivation. Additionally, CTR1 gene silencing successfully improved the anti-
cancer effect of mTOR inhibitor
rapamycin. Our study reveals that CTR1 contributes to pancreatic
tumorigenesis and progression, by up-regulating the phosphorylation of AKT/mTOR signaling molecules. Recovering
copper balance by
copper deprivation addresses as promising strategy for improved
cancer chemotherapy.