The expression and the role of PIWI like RNA-mediated gene silencing 3 (PIWIL3) in lung cell line

BACKGROUND: To determine the expression and role of PIWI-like RNA-mediated gene silencing 3 (PIWIL3) in human lung cancer. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry was performed to measure the expression of PIWIL3 in 30 of pairs lung cancer and corresponding paracancer tissues. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was conducted to analyze the expression of PIWIL3 in four breast cancer cell lines. siRNA was used to silence PIWIL3 in the lung cancer cells (A549). Methylthiazoletetrazolium (MTT) proliferation assay and colony formation assay were conducted to detect the growth of A549 cells. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) was performed to measure the apoptosis of A549 cells. Transwell migration assay and wound scratch healing assay were used to analyze the migration and invasion ability of A549 cells. SPSS 20.0 was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The expression of PIWIL3 protein was higher in tumor tissues than that in paracancer tissues. In addition, PIWIL3 mRNA was highly expressed in all four lung cancer cell lines. Furthermore, RPS15A knockdown significantly suppressed cell proliferation (P<0.01), induced apoptosis (P<0.01) and inhibited metastasis (P<0.01) of A549 cells. CONCLUSIONS: PIWIL3 was highly expressed in lung cancer tissues and could promote the progression of lung cancer.