Mucin1 (MUC1) promoter has been cloned from the 5' flanking region of the MUC1 gene in breast carcinoma, functionally characterized and applied in gene therapy of breast and esophageal carcinoma. In the present study, we amplified a 786 base pair (bp) MUC1 promoter by two-step nest PCR, and identified the activity and tumor-specificity using an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene as a reporter gene by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry analysis in Panc-1, primary normal pancreatic (PNPC), and cervical cancer HeLa cell lines. Subsequently, the human somatostatin receptor subtype 2 (hSSTR2) gene driven by MUC1 promoter was cloned into the pAdTrack to produce recombinant adenovirus AdMUC1-hSSTR2. The anticancer effect of AdMUC1-hSSTR2 was determined in Panc-1. The results demonstrated that there was no AdMUC1-hSSTR2-induced apoptosis, but a significant cell proliferation inhibition even without somatostatin (SST) analogue Octreotide, involved in the up-regulation of the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors p21 and p27. Moreover, the anticancer effect could not be augmented by the addition of Octreotide, revealing a mechanism that was independent from induction of Octreotide. Therefore, this adenovirus system can be used as a novel, potent and specific tool for gene-targeting therapy in the MUC1 positive pancreatic carcinoma as shown in Panc-1.

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