Expression of Pim-3 in pancreatic carcinoma and its correlation with cell proliferation

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of Pim-3 in pancreatic carcinoma and its correlation with cell proliferation. METHODS:The streptavidin-peroxidase complex technique was used to examine the expression of Pim-3 and PCNA proteins in 15 normal pancreatic tissue and 49 pancreatic carcinoma and the proliferative index(PI) was calculated. RESULTS:In normal pancreatic tissue Pim-3 was not detected,whereas in pancreatic carcinoma the positive expression ratio of Pim-3 was 73.47%(36/49).The positive rate of Pim-3 in pancreatic carcinoma was significantly higher than that in normal pancreatic tissue(P0.01).The PI in normal pancreatic tissue and pancreatic duct adenocarcinoma was 6.25%±2.59% and 32.54%±14.69%,respectively,also with a significant difference(P 0.01).With the increase in the expression of Pim-3 protein,the cell proliferating activity increased in the tumor cells. The Pim-3 expression level was positively correlated with PI(r=0.726,P0.01). CONCLUSION:Pim-3 was overexpresed in human pancreatic carcinoma,and it may play important roles in the carcinogenesis and progression of pancreatic carcinoma.