Background & objective: AKT2, a serine/threonine kinase, is confirmed to be an oncogene. Abnormal expression and activation of AKT2 is observed in many kinds of tumor tissues. AKT2 is associated with the proliferation and invasion of cancers. This study was designed to investigate the expression of AKT2, Cyclin D1, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissue and their correlations to clinicopathologic features of NSCLC.
Methods: The expression of AKT2, Cyclin D1, and MMP-9 in 68 specimens of NSCLC, 38 specimens of corresponding adjacent tissues, and 14 specimens of no-cancerous lung tissue were assessed by immunohistochemistry; their correlations to clinicopathologic factors were analyzed using Chi-square test.
Results: The positive rates of AKT2, Cyclin D1, and MMP-9 were significantly higher in NSCLC than in adjacent tissues and no-cancerous lung tissues (91.2% vs. 3.8%, 76.5% vs. 0%, 72.1% vs. 13.5%, P<0.05). The expression of AKT2 wasn't correlated to age, sex, histologic subtype and differentiation, and TNM stage of NSCLC patients (P>0.05), but was correlated to lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). The expression of Cyclin D1 and MMP-9 was correlated to lymph node metastasis and differentiation of squamous cell carcinoma (P<0.05); the expression of MMP-9 was correlated to TNM stage. The expression of AKT2 was positively correlated to the expression of Cyclin D1 and MMP-9 (P<0.05).
Conclusions: AKT2, Cyclin D1, and MMP-9 is related to development of lung cancer. The overexpression of Cyclin D1 and MMP-9 may relate to AKT2 regulation.