Expression, Characteristics, and Clinical Target Prediction of PIK3C3/ vps34 in Gastric Cancer
Authors: Zhu Chenglou , Liu Wenhan , Da Mingxu 
Published: October 2024

Objective:
This study aimed to investigate the expression pattern of phosphatidylin-ositol 3-kinase class III (PIK3C3/vps34) in gastric cancer (GC) tissues and their juxtaposed normal counterparts and its correlation with the clinicopathological attributes and prognostic outlook of afflicted individuals.

Methods:
Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining was used to ascertain the expression levels of PIK3C3/vps34 across 60 GC tissues juxtaposed with their normal counterparts. Statistical methodologies were used to scrutinize the correlation between PIK3C3/vps34 expression and clinicopathological features, along with prognostic implications for GC patients.

Results:
In GC tissues, the positive expression rate of PIK3C3/vps34 was 23.3% (14/60), which contrasted sharply with the markedly elevated rate of 66.7% (40/60) observed in adja-cent tissues. The positive expression proportion of PIK3C3/vps34 within GC tissues exhibited a notable decrease than in adjacent tissues (P<0.05). The expression of PIK3C3/vps34 inverse-ly correlated with tumor size, degree of tissue differentiation, depth of tumor infiltration, and incidence of lymph node metastasis (P<0.05), whereas no significant associations were found with patient sex, age, tumor location, TNM staging, or distant metastasis (P > 0.05). As the tumor diameter increases, the degree of tissue differentiation diminishes, tumor infiltration depth intensifies, lymph node metastasis emerges, the TNM stage progresses, and PIK3C3/vps34 expression level within GC tissues declines correspondingly. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis unveiled a prolonged survival duration among GC patients exhibiting height-ened PIK3C3/vps34 expression than in their counterparts with diminished expression (HR=0.66, 95% CI: 0.55-0.80), demonstrating statistical significance (P<0.05). Protein inter-action analysis revealed noteworthy interactions involving PIK3C3 with Beclin 1, UVRAG, and ATG14.

Conclusion:
PIK3C3/vps34 is downregulated in GC tissues, exerting a pivotal role in tumor-igenesis, and is intimately linked with the prognostic trajectory of GC patients. It may serve as a significant biomarker for prognostic evaluation and a promising molecular therapeutic target for GC.

result:
In GC tissues,the positive expression rate of PIK3C3/vps34 stood at 23.3% (14/60), contrasting sharply with the markedly elevated rate of 66.7% (40/60) observed in adjacent tissues.. The affirmative expression proportion of PIK3C3/vps34 within GC tissues exhibited a notable decrement compared to adjacent tissues (P< 0.05). As tumor diameter increases, tissue differentiation degree diminishes, tumor infiltration depth intensifies, lymph node metastasis emerges, and TNM stage progresses, the expression level of PIK3C3/vps34 within GC tissues correspondingly declines. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis unveiled a prolonged survival duration among GC patients exhibiting heightened PIK3C3/vps34 expression compared to their counterparts with diminished [removed]HR=0.66, 95% CI: 0.55-0.80), demonstrating statistical significance (P < 0.05). Protein interaction analysis elucidated noteworthy interactions involving PIK3C3 with Beclin 1, UVRAG, and ATG14.