RNA interference: a potential strategy for isoform-specific phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase targeted therapy in ovarian cancer.

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) is a novel intracellular transducer involved in a wide range of cancer-associated signaling pathways, which comprises various isoforms and splice variants with distinct biologic activities and clinical implications. Especially, the class Ia PI3-kinase 110 kD catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA) is the most important isoform in tumorigenesis and possibly, tumor angiogenesis. Several strategies have been developed to block PI3-kinase for cancer therapy; however, the approach to target specific PI3-kinase isoform has not been explored to date. In the present study, we show that RNA interference (RNAi) through small interfering (siRNA) sequences targeting PIK3CA has potential applications in isoform-specific "knock-down" of PI3-kinase. This strategy provides a novel tool to study the function of various PI3-kinase isoforms and may contribute to isoform-specific targeting of PI3-kinase in human cancer.