Abstract: Objective To explore the expression levels of Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3β (GSK-3β) in glioma cells and its function on cell proliferation and invasion. The underlying mechanism was also investigated. Methods The expression levels of GSK-3β in four glioma cell lines (A172, T98, U87, U251) and normal human astrocytes 1800 were analyzed by RT-PCR and Western blotting. The constructed pcDNA3.1(+)-GSK-3β（rGSK-3β）recombinant vector and PAX3 siRNA were transfected into U87 cells. Cell viability and invasion ability were detected by MTT and Transwell invasion assay, respectively. Results The GSK-3β expression levels were detectable in four glioma cell lines （P<0.05）, but low in the control 1800 cells. Overexpression of GSK-3β in U87 cells increased rates of cell proliferation was assessed by MTT assay and Ki67 expression. The GSK-3β expression promoted cell invasion（P<0.05）. Further analysis suggested that the enhanced PAX3 was responsible for GSK-3β-induced cell proliferation and invasion. These advantages were abolished by inactivation of PAX3 using specific PAX3 siRNA (P<0.05). Conclusion This research demonstrated that GSK-3β, via PAX3, promotes the rates of cell proliferation and invasion in U87 glioma cells.

Key words: GSK-3β, glioma, cell proliferation, cell invasion, PAX3