The aim of this study was to verify the inhibitory effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on cell proliferation and the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1α) and multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1/P-gp) in the human pancreatic carcinoma cell line PANC-1, thereby, reversing drug resistance of pancreatic carcinoma and improving its sensitivity to cancer chemotherapy. The human pancreatic carcinoma cell line PANC-1 was incubated under hypoxic conditions with different concentrations of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) for indicated hours. The effects of EGCG on the mRNA or protein expression of HIF-1α and MDR1 were determined by RT-PCR or western blotting. Cellular proliferation and viability assays were measured using Cell Counting Kit-8. Western blotting revealed that EGCG inhibits the expression of the HIF-1α protein in a dose-dependent manner, while RT-PCR showed that it does not have any effects on HIF-1α mRNA. In addition, EGCG attenuated the mRNA and protein levels of P-gp in a dose-dependent manner, reaching a peak at the highest concentration. Furthermore, EGCG inhibited the proliferation of PANC-1 cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. The attenuation of HIF-1α and the consequently reduced P-gp could contribute to the inhibitory effects of EGCG on the proliferation of PANC-1 cells.

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