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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2021 Sep 30.
Published in final edited form as: Future Oncol. 2009 Nov;5(9):1317–1319. doi: 10.2217/fon.09.114

Figure 1. HuR regulation of the commonly used chemotherapeutic used against pancreatic cancer, gemcitabine.

Figure 1.

Step 1: Gemcitabine is infused as a prodrug; Step 2: Gemcitabine induces the cytoplasmic accumulation of HuR–dCK mRNA complexes (as well as the accumulation of HuR associated to other mRNAs, yet to be identified); Step 3: Activated and increased HuR enhances the expression of dCK (the enzyme that activates the prodrug gemcitabine), and proteins encoded by other HuR target mRNAs; Step 4: Gemcitabine (prodrug) is metabolized into active metabolites in cancer cells, in turn inhibiting the elongation of the DNA chain and causing cell death.

dCK: Deoxycytidine kinase.