Inhibition of PI3 kinase isoform p110α suppresses neuroblastoma growth and induces the reduction of Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase

BACKGROUND: In neuroblastoma, hyperactivation of the PI3K signaling pathway has been correlated with aggressive neuroblastomas, suggesting PI3Ks as promising targets for the treatment of neuroblastoma. However, the oncogenic roles of individual PI3K isoforms in neuroblastoma remain elusive. RESULTS: We found that PI3K isoform p110α was expressed at higher levels in neuroblastoma tissues compared with normal tissues, and its high expression was correlated with an unfavorable prognosis of neuroblastoma. Accordingly, PI3K activation in neuroblastoma cells was predominantly mediated by p110α but not by p110β or p110δ. Suppression of p110α inhibited the growth of neuroblastoma cells both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting a crucial role of p110α in the tumorigenesis of neuroblastoma. Mechanistically, inhibition of p110α decreased anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) in neuroblastoma cells by decreasing its protein stability. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we investigated the oncogenic roles of PI3K isoforms in neuroblastoma. Our data shed light on PI3K isoform p110α in the tumorigenesis of neuroblastoma, and strongly suggest the p110α inhibitors as potential drugs in treating neuroblastoma. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13578-022-00946-9.