Treatment of biliary tract cancer cells with polycomb repressive complex 1 inhibitor PTC-209 reduces putative cancer stem cell population and causes cell cycle arrest

Question: The polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1) is an epigenetic regulator that plays a crucial role in various types of cancer including biliary tract cancer (BTC). BTC is a fatal disease associated with poor outcome. Hence, new therapeutic strategies are needed. Recently, the first small-molecule PRC1 inhibitor called PTC-209 has been developed. In this study, we examined the effect of PTC-209 on eight different BTC cell lines. Methods: Expression of PRC1 core components bmi1 and ring1b was measured with quantitative real time reverse transcription PCR. Cytotoxic effects of PTC-209 were evaluated using resa…