Clinical significance of PIK3CA and survivin in primary adenosquamous lung carcinoma

Clinicopathological and Prognostic Significance of Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein (IAP) Family Members in Lung Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Approximately 85% is non-small-cell and 15% is small-cell lung cancer. The inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) represent a heterogeneous family of anti-apoptotic proteins, some members of which have been reported to correlate with clinical outcome in lung cancer. We screened PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus for studies that investigated the prognostic value and clinicopathological features of IAPs in lung cancer. Forty-five eligible studies with 4428 patients assessed the expression of the IAPs survivin, XIAP, livin, and BRUCE. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) of 33 studies that analyzed overall survival (OS) revealed a positive correlation between survivin expression and poor prognosis. Seven studies displayed a strong association between survivin and disease recurrence. Two studies that assessed the expression of XIAP and livin, respectively, proved a significant relationship of these IAPs with poor OS. Meta-analyses of clinicopathological variables revealed a significant association between survivin and T stage, UICC stage, the presence of lymph node metastasis, and grade of differentiation. In conclusion, high expression of distinct IAPs significantly correlates with prognosis in lung cancer. Therefore, lung cancer patients might benefit from a targeted therapy against specific IAPs.

Role of PIK3CA in cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell line Ecal09

AIM: To explore the role of PIK3CA in cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cell line Eca109.

METHODS: Eca109 cells were divided into three groups: a blank control group (non-transfected cells), a negative control group (transfected with a scramble siRNA) and an experimental group (transfected with a specific siRNA against PIK3CA). After transfection using Lipofectamin 2000, the protein expression of PIK3CA was detected by Western blot. Cell proliferation and migration were examined by MTT assay and wound healing assay, respectively. Cell apoptosis and cell cycle progression were analyzed by flow cytometry.

RESULTS: After transfection with the specific siRNA against PIK3CA, PIK3CA protein expression was significantly decreased compared with the blank control group and negative control group (P < 0.05). After successful knock-down of PIK3CA, both cell proliferation and migration were significantly reduced (P < 0.05), the cell cycle was arrested at S phase (P < 0.05), and the apoptosis rate was significantly increased (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: PIK3CA plays an important role in promoting cell proliferation and migration and suppressing apoptosis, which may become a new potential target in the therapy of metastasis of ESCC.