Knockdown of PFTK1 inhibits tumor cell proliferation, invasion and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in pancreatic cancer.

PFTK1 was identified as a member of the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) family and it is frequently upregulated in many types of tumors. However, its expression and role in pancreatic cancer has not been yet reported. In this study, we aimed to explore the expression and function in pancreatic cancer. The present study verified that PFTK1 was highly expressed in pancreatic cancer cell lines. The in vitro experiments demonstrated that knockdown of PFTK1 inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells as well as the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) progress. Finally, knockdown of PFTK1 inhibited the expression of p-PI3K and p-Akt in pancreatic cancer cells. In summary, the present study has provided further evidence that knockdown of PFTK1 inhibited the proliferation and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells as well as the EMT progress by suppressing the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Therefore, these findings reveal that PFTK1 might potentially become a novel strategy for targeting pancreatic cancer.