Pim-1 acts as an oncogene in human salivary gland adenoid cystic carcinoma

Background: pim-1 (provirus integration site for moloney murine leukemia virus 1) belongs to the ser/thr kinase family and plays a pivotal role in occurrence and development of oncogenesis. recent studies have demonstrated that pim-1 phosphorylates runx3 and alters its subcellular localization. however,few studies have concerned the implications of pim-1 in the salivary gland adenoid cystic carcinoma (acc). in this study,we aimed to clarify the function of pim-1 in acc in vitro. meanwhile,we measured the levels of pim-1 and runx3 in the acc tissues. the correlations between pim-1/runx3 levels and clinical parameters were also analyzed. methods: sacc-83 and sacc-lm cells were transfected with the pim-1 sirna. pim-1 mrna and protein expression were measured using real-time pcr and immnuoblot,respectively. cell proliferation was analyzed by cck-8 assay. cell cycle,apoptosis,and mitochondrial membrane potential were detected by flow cytometry. effects of pim-1 on cells' invasion were evaluated by transwell migration assay. pim-1 and runx3 levels in acc tissues were examined by immunohistochemistry. results: pim-1 sirna reduces cell proliferation,induces apoptosis,causes cell cycle arrest through cell cycle related proteins (cyclin d1 and cdk4),mitochondrial depolarization,and decreases invasive ability in sacc-83 and sacc-lm cells. pim-1 and runx3 levels are significantly relevant and associated with t-stage and nerve invasion in the acc tissues. conclusions: this study demonstrates the oncogenic role of pim-1 in acc. the findings also suggest that pim-1 may serve as a neoteric therapeutic target and potential prognostic marker for acc cancer. © 2014 zhu et al.; licensee biomed central.