Overexpression of PI3K-p110α in the progression of uterine cervical neoplasia and its correlation with pAkt and DJ-1

Objective: To investigate the expression of PI3K-p110α, pAkt, PTEN, the signaling molecules from PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, DJ- 1, an oncoprotein and HSP90α, a molecular chaperone, and their correlation in uterine cervical neoplasia, in order to elucidate their role in cervical carcinogenesis. Materials and Methods: Using immunohistochemistry, the authors analyzed the expression of PI3K-p110α, pAkt, PTEN, DJ-1 and HSP90α, and their correlation in ten normal tissues, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) including 30 CIN1 and 31 CIN3, and 33 cases of invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Results: The expression of all proteins significantly increased in CIN3 compared to CIN1, and only the expression of PI3K-p110α significantly increased in invasive SCC compared to CIN3. There was a significant positive correlation between the expression of PI3K-p110α and DJ-1, as well as PI3K-p110α and pAkt in CIN3 and invasive SCC. Conclusion: Overexpression of PI3K-p110α is associated with progression of uterine cervical neoplasia, and the expression of pAkt and DJ-1 is positively correlated with PI3K-p110α expression in this process.

PI3K-p110α; DJ-1; pAkt; Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia; Squamous cell carcinoma.

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