Paraoxonase 3 promotes cell proliferation and metastasis by PI3K/Akt in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Paraoxonase 3 (PON3) is an oncogene in cancer, however, little is known about the mechanisms and roles of PON3 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), which is the aim of our study. We found that the expression of PON3 was up-regulated in OSCC samples and cell lines. PON3 was associated with accelerating cell proliferation, cell cycle, migration and invasion in OSCC cells. Further research showed that PON3 was regulated by PI3K/Akt pathway. We also found that AP-1 was an important transcriptional factor regulating PON3 expression in OSCC. The study elucidates that PI3K/Akt pathway up-regulated the expression of PON3 in OSCC by AP-1.