Expression and clinical significance of PUMA gene in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma

PURPOSE: To explore the expression of p53 up-regulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA) gene in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC) and its clinical significance. METHODS: The expressions of PUMA gene and protein were detected in 27 SACC tumor-adjacent tissues (group A) and 27 SACC tumor tissues (group B) with real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 19.0 software package. RESULTS: The expression of PUMA gene in groups A as calibrator was 1，and expression of PUMA gene in group B was 0.57±0.17. The expression of PUMA protein in groups A and B were 0.94±0.12 and 0.36±0.12，respectively. The expressions of PUMA gene and protein were significantly lower in group B than in group A (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The expression of puma gene in SACC tissues is down-regulated, which is negatively correlated with the development of SACC.