title: Knockdown of phosphodiesterase 4D inhibits nasopharyngeal carcinoma proliferation via the epidermal growth factor receptor signaling pathway.
abstract: Phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D) is a subtype of metallohydrolases, and it has been reported that PDE4D functions as a proliferation promoting factor in certain types of cancer, including head and neck cancer. The present study first investigated the function of PDE4D in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Western blot analysis was applied to detect PDE4D expression in NPC samples and cells. A lentiviral infection technique was used to stabilize the knockdown of PDE4D, which was subsequently examinedin vitroandin vivo. The results showed that PDE4D was overexpressed in the NPC tissues and cells. Knockdown of PDE4D inhibited the growth of CNE2 and 5-8F, inducing cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1phase in CNE2. These effects could be reversed by epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulation. Furthermore, knockdown of PDE4D significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and AKT. The results were further validated in an NPC xenograft in nude mice. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that PDE4D may function as a proliferation promoting factor in NPC, by affecting the EGFR/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Therefore, the targeting of PDE4D may be a rational strategy in the treatment of NPC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, The Second People's Hospital of Wuxi, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214002, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, The Second People's Hospital of Wuxi, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214002, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Sihai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, The Second People's Hospital of Wuxi, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214002, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, The Second People's Hospital of Wuxi, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214002, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Guoxin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, The Second People's Hospital of Wuxi, Wuxi, Jiangsu 214002, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Dajiang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xiao
keywords: epideramal growth factor receptor; nasopharyngeal carcinoma; phosphodiesterase 4D; proliferation