Cross regulation of signaling pathways in gastrointestinal stromal tumor

The Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway may be interrelated with other signaling pathways, such as the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways in gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). The present study investigated the interaction among Shh, PI3K and MAPK signaling pathways in GIST cells. The expression of PI3K, MAPK and Shh signaling pathways in GIST-H1 cells were upregulated by endothelial growth factor (EGF) and recombinant Shh (N-shh) stimulation, and were downregulated by specific inhibitors of each signaling pathway. The proliferation rate of GIST-H1 cells were significantly increased under EGF or N-shh treatment (P<0.01). In addition, this effect was partially prevented by the pretreatment of the inhibitors of these signaling pathways. In summary, a cross regulation exists among the Shh, PI3K and MAPK signaling pathways in GIST-H-1 cells. The combined use of the inhibitors of these signaling pathways is a potentially novel option for GIST targeted therapy.