Silencing LPAATβ inhibits tumor growth of cisplatin-resistant human osteosarcoma in vivo and in vitro.

Cisplatin-resistance has become a major impediment in the medical treatment of cancers such as osteosarcoma, the most common primary malignancy of bone. Since lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase β (LPAATβ) was reported to be critically involved in osteosarcoma, our study investigated the role of LPAATβ in human osteosarcoma with cisplatin-resistance. Expression of LPAATβ or other relevant proteins were analyzed in 40 osteosarcoma patients by immunohistochemistry analysis (IHC), and in cisplatin‑resistant sublines by real-time PCR and western blotting. Next, the synthesized siRNA was inserted into the lentivirus vector and silencing of LPAATβ expression was employed to determine the effect of LPAATβ on cisplatin-resistant osteosarcoma cell viability in vitro and osteosarcoma tumor growth in vivo with cisplatin treatment. Exogenous LPAATβ mediated by heritable RNAi decreased cisplatin‑resistant sensitivity through activating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. We further demonstrate that silencing LPAATβ effectively inhibited tumor growth in nude mice with xenografts of cisplatin‑resistant osteosarcoma cells. IHC assay results showed that PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway was also involved in this process. Our results suggested that LPAATβ may play an important role in osteosarcoma and silencing LPAATβ may be exploited as a novel therapeutic strategy for the clinical management of cisplatin-resistance.