title: Reduction of galectin-3 expression reduces pituitary tumor cell progression.
abstract: We investigated the role of galectin 3 in the development and progression of pituitary tumors. We used RNA interference to depress Gal-3 gene expression; MTT and flow cytometry were applied to detect changes in cell proliferation and apoptosis levels in pituitary tumor cells. Expression of apoptosis-associated genes, Bcl-2 and Baxk was analyzed by Western blot. Inhibition of Gal-3 gene expression by RNA interference decreased GH3 cell proliferation and increased cell apoptosis; the expression levels of Gal-3 protein significantly decreased, along with those of Bcl-2, although Bax levels did not change. We conclude that Gal-3 has an important role in pituitary tumor cell proliferation and progression; and it may be useful as a target for the treatment of aggressive pituitary tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hainan Provincial People's Hospital, Haikou, China ChuixueHuang@126.com.
authors.forename: C X
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hainan Provincial People's Hospital, Haikou, China.
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hainan Provincial People's Hospital, Haikou, China.
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hainan Provincial People's Hospital, Haikou, China.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hainan Provincial People's Hospital, Haikou, China.
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hainan Provincial People's Hospital, Haikou, China.
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hainan Provincial People's Hospital, Haikou, China.
authors.forename: Y B
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000235:genetics*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000235:genetics*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000235:genetics; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D037502:Galectin 3 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D034622:RNA Interference
chemical_list: D037502:Galectin 3; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2