A pivotal role for Pim-1 kinase in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma involving cell apoptosis induced by reducing Akt phosphorylation.
It is well documented that Provirus integration site for Moloney murine leukemia virus 1 (Pim-1), as a proto-oncogene encoding a serine/threonine kinase with multiple cellular functions, is tightly associated with the occurrence and development of tumors. Overexpression of Pim-1 plays a critical role in the progression of several different tumors. In this study, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) EC9706 cells with Pim-1 siRNA treatment resulted in a clear decrease of Pim-1 levels, followed by inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis. Further, Pim-1 siRNA reduced phosphorylation of Akt and Bad, and increased cleaved caspase-3/-9 activities and expression levels. These data suggest that Pim-1 siRNA-mediated apoptosis is closely related to the decrease in Akt and Bad phosphorylation and increase in cleaved caspase-3/-9 activities, and thus manipulation of Pim-1 is a potential target for molecular therapy in the clinical treatment of patients with ESCC.
Li
Shenglei
S
Department of Pathology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Key Laboratory of Tumor Pathology, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, P.R. China.
Xi
Yu
Y
Zhang
Hongyan
H
Wang
Yange
Y
Wang
Xin
X
Liu
Hongtao
H
Chen
Kuisheng
K
D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002469:Cell Separation; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D010766:Phosphorylation; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism*; D051573:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-pim-1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
C000715470:MAS1 protein, human; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D051573:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-pim-1