Overexpression of p21-activated kinase 1 in prostate cancer cells is regulated by the mTOR signaling pathway

26^th World Cancer and Oncodiagnostics Conference

November 27-28, 2017 Dubai, UAE

Gang Chen

Fudan University, China

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Cancer Sci Ther

Abstract :

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common malignant tumor without clinical symptoms at an early stage in men. However, its etiology and pathogenesis remain unclear. P21-activated kinase-1 (PAK1) is a member of a family of serine/threonine kinases highly conserved throughout evolution. It has been shown that PAK1 is involved in cancer cell growth, invasion and metastasis, but little is known about PAK1 expression in patients with PCa. In this study, a total of 73 patients with PCa and 40 patients with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) who were treated in our hospital were analyzed retrospectively. The expression of PAK1 in PCs and BPH tissues was determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. PAK1 protein expression was significantly increased in patients with PCa compared to patients with BPH (PCa vs. BPH, P<0.05). PAK1 expression was associated with PSA. The level of PAK1 expression was higher in DU145 and PC-3 cells than those in LNCaP and RWPE-1 cells. Furthermore, mTOR inhibitor Rapamycin inhibited cell proliferation, while mTOR activator MYH1485 promoted proliferation, in a dose-dependent manner in DU145, LNCaP and RWPE-1 cells and changed the expression level of PAK1 expression. These data indicate the involvement of the mTOR-mediated pathway in the regulation of PAK1. Knockdown of PAK1 significantly inhibited DU145 cell proliferation, migration and invasion and PCa xenograft growth ability in nude mice. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that PAK1 is up-regulated in human PCa and mediated by the mTOR signaling pathway. PAK1 may be a PCa marker and therapeutic target.

Biography :

Gang Chen has completed his PhD from Fudan University, China. He has been working as a Clinician and Researcher in the field of bladder and prostatic cancers. He is a President of the Jinshan Hospital of Fudan University and serves as a Professor, Mentor of doctoral students and the Director of the Department of Urology. He has published more than 40 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an Editorial Board Member of Chinese Journal of Medicine