Overexpression of P21-activated kinase 4 is associated with poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer and promotes migration and invasion

BACKGROUND: P21-activated kinase 4 (PAK4), an effector of the Rho family protein Cdc42, is an important oncogene whose expression is increased in many human cancers and is generally positively correlated with advanced disease and decreased survival. However, little is known about the expression and biological function of PAK4 in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: PAK4 expression in NSCLC tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues were assessed by immunohistochemistry, real-time PCR, and western blotting. Prognostic value of PAK4 expression was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression. siRNA-mediated gene silencing and protein kinase assay was applied to demonstrate the role and the mechanism of PAK4 in lung cancer cell migration, invasion. RESULTS: The results showed that PAK4 was overexpressed in NSCLC cell lines and human NSCLC tissues. PAK4 expression was detected both in the membranes and cytoplasm of NSCLC cancer cells in vivo. Moreover, increased expression of PAK4 was associated with metastasis, shorter overall survival, advanced stage of NSCLC. Furthermore, PAK4 expression was positively correlated with phosphorylation of LIMK1 expression levels. Knockdown of PAK4 in NSCLC cell lines led to reduce the phosphorylation of LIMK1, which resulted in decrease of the cell migration and invasion. In addition, PAK4 bound to LIMK1 directly and activated it via phosphorylation. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that PAK4 mediated LIMK1 phosphorylation regulates the migration and invasion in NSCLC. Therefore, PAK4 might be a significant prognostic marker and potential therapeutic molecular target in NSCLC.