Abstract 4450: The role of paired-like homeodomain 2B in non-small cell lung cancer progression

The transcription factor PITX2 (paired-like homeodomain 2) is well known to play an essential role in normal embryonic development. Emerging evidence suggests that PITX2 may be involved in human tumorigenesis. However, the functional role that PITX2 plays in tumor progression remain unclear. In this study, we investigated its function in human non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Using real-time quantitative RT-PCR, we demonstrated that PITX2B is the most abundant isoform in lung cancer cells. Enforced expression of PITX2B could promote lung cancer cell morphological change, migration, invasion, anchorage-dependent growth ability and tumorigenesis in xenograft model mice. In addition, nuclear PITX2B localization was correlated with its oncogenic functions and two important nuclear localization signals (NLSs) were identified. Moreover, high expression of PITX2B was associated with poor overall survival (P