Study on the mechanism of down-regulation of Galectin-3 gene expression on proliferation and apoptosis of neuroblastoma

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effect of downregulation of Galectin-3 gene expression on proliferation and apoptosis of neuroblastoma. Methods The mRNA and protein expression of Galectin-3 in neuroblastoma tissues were detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting; Galectin-3-siRNA (small interfering RNA) was transfected into human neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-SH, a negative control group (NC-siRNA) and control group (Control) were set, expression of Galectin-3, Cleaved Caspase-3, phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K), phosphorylated protein kinase B (p-Akt) protein were detected by Western blotting cells were transfected for 48 h; cell proliferation was detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8); cell apoptosis were determined by flow cytometry. Results The mRNA and proteinexpression of Galectin-3 gene in neuroblastoma significantly higher than the tumor adjacent tissues (tmRNA=8.174, PmRNA=0.001; t蛋白=17.648, P蛋白=0.000); the expression of Galectin-3 proteins transfected Galectin-3-siRNA in the SK-N-SH cells was lower compared with Control group (t=12.461, P=0.000). Conclusion Downregulation of Galectin-3 gene expression can significantly inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis of neuroblastoma, and the mechanism is related to the inhibition of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Key words: Galectin-3 gene; Neuroblastoma; Proliferation; Apoptosis; Phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase/protein kinase B signaling pathway