PIK3C3

PIK3C3, Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase catalytic subunit type 3, also known as VPS34, Vps34, and hVps34. PIK3C3 is a member of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) family and is able to phosphorylate phosphatidylinositides (PtdIns) to generate phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI3P), a central phosphatidylphosphatidylinositol in the process of autophagy.
PIK3C3 plays a role in the regulation of early endosome to late endosome translocation and cytoplasmic division, and is located in autolysosomes, late endosomes, and midosomes. PIK3C3 is essential for the formation of autophagy, the mechanism by which cells maintain their survival in the face of environmental changes, and also helps tumor cells to resist metabolic stress and cancer therapies. PIK3C3 induces the transformation of tumor cells through a mechanism that does not depend on autophagy and enhances tumor cell proliferation, growth, and invasion.
The expression pattern of PIK3C3 in a variety of human tumors and the potential mechanisms in tumorigenesis, as well as its significance in cancer biology, patient prognosis prediction, and cancer therapy have been extensively studied.