Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) siRNA (simTOR) co-transfection was performed to verify the role of mTOR in the suppression effect of miR-1271 on ovarian cancer.
Upregulation of DEPTOR is a positive prognostic marker in ovarian cancer and is increased in response to mTOR pathway inhibition suggesting that it functions as a tumour suppressor gene in endometrioid ovarian carcinoma.
Likewise, the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is also a central regulator of the ovarian cancer.
Sphere forming cells (multicellular spheroids) present in malignant ascites of patients with ovarian cancer represent a major impediment to effective treatment. p70 S6 kinase (p70S6K), which is a downstream effector of mammalian target of rapamycin, is frequently hyperactivated in human ovarian cancer.
Our results indicate that there are significant differences in the expression of some of the mTOR-related tumor suppressors and oncogenes which could be associated with the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer.