Correlation of SOX9 and NM23 genes with the incidence and prognosis of prostate cancer

Correlation of sex determining region Y-box (SOX)9 and NM23 genes with the incidence and prognosis of prostate cancer (PC) was investigated. SOX9-small interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) and NM23-siRNA were constructed and transfected into PC-3 cells. The expression levels of SOX9 and NM23 messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and proteins in PC-3 cells were detected via reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blotting. MTT assay was adopted to examine the proliferation ability of the transfected cells, and Transwell assay was applied to detect the migration ability of the transfected cells. Sixty-three patients with PC and 56 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia who were treated in Huadu District People's Hospital were enrolled. Correlation analyses were conducted for the relative expression levels of SOX9 and NM23 and the Gleason grade; and the survival curves of the patient SOX9/NM23 (S/N) Cq values were plotted. The proliferation and migration abilities of PC-3 cells were remarkably reduced after low expression of SOX9 (P<0.01), while those of PC-3 cells were significantly improved after low expression of NM23 (P<0.01). Compared with that in tissues of PC patients, the relative expression of SOX9 mRNA in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia was obviously decreased (P<0.01), while that of NM23 mRNA was significantly elevated (P<0.01). The larger the S/N was, the shorter the patient's survival time would be (P<0.05). The low expression of SOX9 gene can significantly reduce the proliferation and migration abilities of PC cells, which is negatively associated with the incidence and prognosis of patients. The low expression of NM23 gene can markedly enhance the proliferation and migration abilities of PC cells, and it is positively related to the incidence and prognosis of patients.