Background: Golgi phosphoprotein-3 (GOLPH 3) is involved in the development of several human cancers. However, the clinical significance and biological role of GOLPH 3 in ovarian cancer (OC) remains unknown.
Methods: The expression of GOLPH 3 in OC cell lines was quantified using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot assays. The role of GOLPH 3 in tumorigenicity, migration, and invasion of OC cell lines by small interference RNA, scratch wound-healing assays, and transwell assays was detected. In addition, western blotting was used to determine whether GOLPH 3 is associated with the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. Furthermore, RT-qPCR verified whether GOLPH 3 is associated with drug resistance.
Results: GOLPH 3-positive expression rate was higher in OC. Downregulation of GOLPH 3 markedly inhibited the migration and invasion and may be related to the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signal pathway. Moreover, the result of the experiment proved that GOLPH 3 enhances the sensitivity of OC to cisplatin by regulating ATP7A/B. GOLPH 3 promoted the invasion and migration of OC, and the mechanism may be related to the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. In addition, inhibition of GOLPH 3 increased the sensitivity of OC cells to cisplatin, which may be associated with ATP7A/B.
Conclusion: This study found that GOLPH3 may promote the migration and invasion of OC cells through PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. At the same time, low expression of GOLPH3 increased the sensitivity of OC cells to cisplatin.
Keywords: Drug resistance; Golgi phosphoprotein-3; OC; PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway; invasion; migration.