Kras-mutant PANC-1 and mPKC1 cells were maintained in the high-glucose medium, and siMYC was used to knock down the MYC expression. (A) Western blot analysis of ductal cells after siMYC transfection. The levels of pSTAT3, STAT3, MYC, pERK, ERK, and beta-actin are shown. Quantification of MYC/beta-actin, pSTAT3/STAT3, and pERK/ERK (n = 3 each); error bars: mean+s.d. (B) WST assay of MYC-knockdown PANC-1 and mPKC1 cells at 24, 48, and 72 hr after the transfection (n = 8 each); error bars: mean+s.d. (C) Quantification of the sphere-forming capacity of pancreatic ductal cell lines after knockdown of MYC expression (n = 6 each); Scale bar, 50 μm; Tukey’s HSD test; *P<0.05.