Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the expression of progestin and adipoQ receptor family member VI (PAQR6, mPRδ) in prostate cancer and to explore its role in prostate cancer progression.
Methods: PAQR6 mRNA expression was evaluated based on the data obtained from the TCGA database and the GEO database. The prognostic value of PAQR6 was explored by Kaplan-Meier analysis. To investigate the role of PAQR6, it was depleted by siRNA in DU145 cells. The effects of depleting PAQR6 on DU145 cell viability and migration were determined by CCK8 assay, colony formation assay, and wound healing assay, respectively. The activation of MEK and ERK were analyzed by western blot.
Results: PAQR6 mRNA expression was significantly up-regulated in prostate cancer tissues and correlated with lower survival rates (p=0.014). Furthermore, qPCR revealed that PAQR6 expression was elevated in DU145 and LNCaP cells compared with RWPE-2 cells. Depleting PAQR6 obviously suppressed DU145 cell proliferation and migration (p<0.01). In addition, the ratio of p-MEK/MEK and p-ERK/ERK was significantly reduced after silencing PAQR6 (p<0.01).
Conclusion: PAQR6 might play a facilitating role in prostate cancer development by regulating the MAPK signaling pathway. Moreover, it might serve as a potential predictor and therapeutic target in prostate cancer.
Keywords: Kaplan-Meier analysis; MAPK signaling pathway; PAQR6; migration; proliferation.
© 2018 Bin Li et al., published by De Gruyter.