NRSN2 promotes non-small cell lung cancer cell growth through PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway

Neurensin-2 (NRSN2), a small neural membrane protein which localized in small vesicles in neural cells. Recent report suggested that Neurensin-2 might play a suppressive role in tumor. While the biological functions and molecular mechanisms in cancer progression remain unknown. We retrieved Oncomine Database and found that NRSN2 is commonly highly expressed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We examined the levels of NRSN2 in 18 pairs of NSCLC and adjacent tissues and found that NRSN2 was overexpressed in malignant tissues. Both loss and gain of function experiments in NSCLC cell lines suggest that NRSN2 promotes cell growth, but no effects in cell invasion. Further investigation show that NRSN2 could affect phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/Akt/mTOR) signaling. Taken together, our findings suggest that NRSN2 promotes non-small cell lung cancer cell growth through PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway.