Phospholipid Phosphatase 4 promotes proliferation and tumorigenesis, and activates Ca(2+)-permeable Cationic Channel in lung carcinoma cells

BACKGROUND: Phospholipid phosphatase 4 (PPAPDC1A or PLPP4) has been demonstrated to be involved in the malignant process of many cancers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical significance and biological roles of PLPP4 in lung carcinoma. METHODS: PLPP4 expression was examined in 8 paired lung carcinoma tissues by real-time PCR and in 265 lung carcinoma tissues by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the clinical correlation between PLPP4 expression and clinicopathological features and survival in lung carcinoma patients. In vitro and in vivo assays were performed to assess the biological roles of PLPP4 in lung carcinoma. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting, Western blotting and luciferase assays were used to identify the underlying pathway through which PLPP4 silencing mediates biological roles in lung carcinoma. RESULTS: PLPP4 is differentially elevated in lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) and lung squamous cell carcinoma (SQC) tissues. Statistical analysis demonstrated that high expression of PLPP4 significantly and positively correlated with clinicopathological features, including pathological grade, T category and stage, and poor overall and progression-free survival in lung carcinoma patients. Silencing PLPP4 inhibits proliferation and cell cycle progression in vitro and tumorigenesis in vivo in lung carcinoma cells. Our results further reveal that PLPP4 silencing inhibits Ca(2+)-permeable cationic channel, suggesting that downregulation of PLPP4 inhibits proliferation and tumorigenesis in lung carcinoma cells via reducing the influx of intracellular Ca(2+). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that PLPP4 may hold promise as a novel marker for the diagnosis of lung carcinoma and as a potential therapeutic target to facilitate the development of novel treatment for lung carcinoma. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12943-017-0717-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.