Stomatin‑like protein 2 is overexpressed in cervical cancer and involved in tumor cell apoptosis.

Stomatin‑like protein 2 (SLP‑2) is overexpressed in numerous types of human cancer and previous studies revealed that SLP‑2 may function in mitochondria. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the expression of SLP‑2 in cervical cancer and the association between SLP‑2 expression and clinical features, in addition to investigating the role of SLP‑2 in the apoptosis of cervical cancer cells. The expression profile of SLP‑2 was determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blotting and immunohistochemical staining. The effect of SLP‑2 on cell mapoptosis induced by chemotherapeutics in cervical cancer cells was evaluated using Annexin V staining and terminal deoxynucleotidyl‑transferase‑mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assays. The results indicated that SLP‑2 expression in cervical cancer was significantly upregulated at the mRNA and protein levels, compared with that in normal cervical tissues. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed significant correlation between SLP‑2 protein expression and clinical characteristics, including the squamous cell carcinoma antigen (P=0.003), deep stromal invasion (P=0.021), lymphovascular space involvement (P=0.044) and pelvic lymph node metastasis (P<0.001), which served as independent prognostic factors for predicting the shortening of overall survival time in patients with early‑stage cervical cancer. In addition, TUNEL and Annexin V binding assays revealed that silencing SLP‑2 expression significantly enhanced the sensitivity of cervical cancer cells to apoptosis induced by chemotherapeutics. Taken together, the results of the present study suggest that SLP‑2 may be a progressive gene in the development of cervical cancer. Overexpression of SLP‑2 serves an important role in the apoptosis of human cervical cancer cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]