The correlation between PAK5 (
P21-activated kinase 5) and
Ezrin gene expression and
chemotherapy resistance of
osteosarcoma patients was investigated. The
cisplatin (CDDP)-resistance model of
osteosarcoma cells
SOSP-9607/CDDP was established to detect the cell growth curve. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay was used to detect the drug resistance of cells to
chemotherapy drugs. Transwell assay was used to detect the invasive capacity of cells. Semi-quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to detect the
mRNA expression levels in the drug resistance-related genes PAK5 and
Ezrin. Western blot analysis was used to detect the
protein expression levels in PAK5 and
Ezrin.
Tumor tissues were taken from the
osteosarcoma patients with
chemotherapy resistance to detect the expression levels of PAK5 and
Ezrin via immunohistochemical detection, and the correlation between PAK5 and
Ezrin expressions was studied. The results of MTT assay showed that the growth rate of SOSP-9607 was similar to that of
SOSP-9607/CDDP, and the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The sensitivity of SOSP-9607 to CDDP was significantly higher than that of
SOSP-9607/CDDP, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01). Transwell assay showed that the migration capacity of
SOSP-9607/CDDP was significantly better than that of SOSP-9607 (P<0.01), indicating that the drug resistance cell lines of
osteosarcoma were constructed successfully. Semi-qPCR and western blot analysis showed that the
protein expression levels in PAK5 and
Ezrin in
SOSP-9607/CDDP were significantly higher than those in SOSP-9607 (P<0.01). The results of immunohistochemistry showed that the expression quantities of PAK5 and
Ezrin in
osteosarcoma tissues were significantly higher than those in para-
tumor tissues (P<0.01). Pearson's correlation analysis showed that expression of PAK5 and
Ezrin was positively correlated (r=0.197, P=0.023). The
osteosarcoma resistance is closely related to the expression levels of PAK5 and
Ezrin genes. Thus, PAK5 and
Ezrin genes may affect the tolerance of
osteosarcoma patients to
chemotherapy drugs during treatment via the synergistic effect.