Effect of DEK gene silencing on proliferation and apoptosis in human oral squamous cell carcinoma PCI-37 B cells

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one the oral diseases of which are major causes of cancer-related death. Despite the development of advanced technologies in clinical and experimental oncology in recent years, the 5-year survival rate is still low. Therefore the identification of novel OSCC related molecules and the discovery of new makers and drug targets are essential. The human DEK gene has been implicated as an oncogene in OSCC, which has been proved to participate in several critical biological signaling pathways including the expression of protein and mRNA. This study demonstrates that DEK is highly expressed in OSCC cells compared to normal tissue cells. Additionally, inhibition of DEK gene expression can effectively inhibit the proliferation of oral cancer cells. Also the inhibition of DEK gene arrest cells in G0/G1 phase and then impact proliferation and differentiation, thus suggesting that DEK may participate in the procedure of OSCC growth and progression.