Expression of PI3K and ERK in Uygur and Han patients with cervical squamous cancer

Int J Clin Exp Pathol. 2020 Sep 1;13(9):2326-2332. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Cervical squamous cancer is a common malignancy of the female reproductive system, and the age of onset is getting younger. PI3K and ERK, are key components in maintaining the development of malignant tumor, but have not been studied in cervical squamous cancer. Objective: To explore the differences in disease susceptibility to human papilloma virus-16 (HPV-16), phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K) and extracellular signal regulating kinase (ERK) protein expression in cervical squamous cancer tissues between Uyghur and Han women. The expression of PI3K and ERK and presence of HPV-16 infection were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and S-P immunohistochemical assay in cervical squamous carcinoma tissue. To detect PI3K and ERK expression in cervical squamous carcinoma tissue and HPV-16 infection condition, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and S-P immunohistochemical assay were used. HPV-16 infection rate in cervical squamous cancer tissue of Uighur women (40.43%) was significantly higher than Han women (8.33%) (P < 0.05). The positive expression of PI3K in cervical squamous carcinoma tissues was 92.41% (Uyghur nationality: 93.09%; Han nationality: 88.89%), and no statistical difference was observed between Uyghur and Han women (P > 0.05). The positive expression rate of ERK was 68.3%, while the expression in Uyghur (65.43%) was lower than that in Han (83.33%) (P < 0.01). Combining multiple factors, including age, nationality, and HPV-16, the risk ratio of ERK protein high positive expression rate in Han women was 2.466 times that of Uighur women (P < 0.05). A correlation between PI3K and ERK in cervical squamous cancer tissue in Uighur women was found. (r = 0.340, P < 0.001). As compared to Han women, Uyghur women exhibited higher susceptibility to HPV-16. Also, PI3K and ERK protein expression are closely related to cervical cancer occurrence. The expression of ERK in cervical squamous carcinoma tissues differed between the two groups.

Keywords: Cervical cancer; ERK; HPV-16; PI3K.