Overexpression of the
prolyl isomerase PIN1 is involved in
tumorigenesis, but the role of PIN1 in
cervical cancer is unclear. In this study, we examined
PIN1 protein expression by immunohistochemistry in 221
paraffin-embedded samples from
cervical cancer patients,
cervical intraepithelial neoplasia patients, and control tissues, and found that high expression of PIN1 was significantly associated with
lymph node metastasis (P=0.002), advanced stage according to the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics guidelines (P=0.026). When endogenous PIN1 expression was knocked down using
siRNA, cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion were inhibited in the SiHa
cervical cancer cell line. Additionally, PIN1 knockdown increased
E-cadherin and β-
catenin expression, and decreased expression of
N-cadherin and
Vimentin, suggesting that PIN1 can promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). These results indicate that the Overexpression of the
prolyl isomerase PIN1 in
cervical cancer indicates
tumor-Promotive properties of PIN1 that may be a marker of poor prognosis in
cervical cancer patients, and the molecular determinants of epithelial polarity which have
tumorigenesis enhancing impact, might through EMT.