MFAP3L Expression in Gastric Cancer and Potential Role in PI3K/AKT Pathway

Objective：To investigate the MFAP3L expression in gastric cancer (GC) and its potential role in the PI3K/Akt pathway. Methods ：RT-PCR and microarray IHC were performed to detect the mRNA and protein expression of MFAP3L, PIK3CA, AKT2 and Glaectin-3 in primary stomach tumors.Bioinformatics Methods： were used to analyze the protein structure of MFAP3L. Results ：MFAP3L,Glaectin-3 and PIK3CA protein were highly expressed in primary stomach tumor (70.8%, 17/24, P=0.022; 16/25, 64.0%, P=0.017; 14/25, 56.0%, P=0.045).PIK3CA gene mRNA was highly expressed in GC (65.5% 19/29, P=0.001) as well as AKT2 mRNA (56.0%, 14/25, P=0.001).Glaectin-3 protein co-expressed with Glaectin-3 and PIK3CA protein.Additionally, MFAP3L contains multiple phosphorylation sites and a conservative transmembrane domain. Conclusion ：This study demonstrated that high expression of MFAP3L may be relevant to stomach tumorigenesis and get involved with PI3K/Akt pathway to facilitate tumor invasion and metastasis.