C-terminal kinesin motor KIFC1 participates in facilitating proper cell division of human seminoma

Discovery of 2-(3-Benzamidopropanamido)thiazole-5-carboxylate Inhibitors of the Kinesin HSET (KIFC1) and the Development of Cellular Target Engagement Probes

The existence of multiple centrosomes in some cancer cells can lead to cell death through the formation of multipolar mitotic spindles and consequent aberrant cell division. Many cancer cells rely on HSET (KIFC1) to cluster the extra centrosomes into two groups to mimic the bipolar spindle formation of non-centrosome-amplified cells and ensure their survival. Here, we report the discovery of a novel 2-(3-benzamidopropanamido)thiazole-5-carboxylate with micromolar in vitro inhibition of HSET (KIFC1) through high-throughput screening and its progression to ATP-competitive compounds with nanomolar biochemical potency and high selectivity against the opposing mitotic kinesin Eg5. Induction of the multipolar phenotype was shown in centrosome-amplified human cancer cells treated with these inhibitors. In addition, a suitable linker position was identified to allow the synthesis of both fluorescent- and trans-cyclooctene (TCO)-tagged probes, which demonstrated direct compound binding to the HSET protein and confirmed target engagement in cells, through a click-chemistry approach.

Transcriptome analysis of the testes of male chickens with high and low sperm motility

The reproductive performance of chicken breeders has significant economic importance in the poultry industry, and sperm motility is an indicator of reproductive performance. This study performed RNA-seq of the testes of Gushi chicken roosters with high and low sperm motility and identified differentially expressed RNAs involved in sperm motility. RNA-seq analysis showed that 73 and 67 differentially expressed mRNAs were up- and downregulated, and 47 and 56 differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs were up- and downregulated, respectively. The genes related to sperm motility and spermatogenesis included KIFC1, KCNK2, and REC8. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that the pathways related to sperm motility included oxidative phosphorylation and glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism. In addition, the MSTRG.15920.1-REC8-MSTRG.11860.2-VWC2 pathway may regulate sperm motility. This study helped elucidate the molecular genetic mechanism of sperm motility in chicken.

Kinesins in Mammalian Spermatogenesis and Germ Cell Transport

In mammalian testes, the apical cytoplasm of each Sertoli cell holds up to several dozens of germ cells, especially spermatids that are transported up and down the seminiferous epithelium. The blood-testis barrier (BTB) established by neighboring Sertoli cells in the basal compartment restructures on a regular basis to allow preleptotene/leptotene spermatocytes to pass through. The timely transfer of germ cells and other cellular organelles such as residual bodies, phagosomes, and lysosomes across the epithelium to facilitate spermatogenesis is important and requires the microtubule-based cytoskeleton in Sertoli cells. Kinesins, a superfamily of the microtubule-dependent motor proteins, are abundantly and preferentially expressed in the testis, but their functions are poorly understood. This review summarizes recent findings on kinesins in mammalian spermatogenesis, highlighting their potential role in germ cell traversing through the BTB and the remodeling of Sertoli cell-spermatid junctions to advance spermatid transport. The possibility of kinesins acting as a mediator and/or synchronizer for cell cycle progression, germ cell transit, and junctional rearrangement and turnover is also discussed. We mostly cover findings in rodents, but we also make special remarks regarding humans. We anticipate that this information will provide a framework for future research in the field.

An Integrative Pan-Cancer Analysis of Kinesin Family Member C1 (KIFC1) in Human Tumors

Kinesin family member C1 (KIFC1) is a minus-end-directed motor protein that is critically involved in microtubule crosslinking and spindle formation. KIFC1 is essential for supernumerary centrosomes, and it is associated with the initiation and progression of cancers. In the present study, we initially reviewed the The Cancer Genome Atlas database and observed that KIFC1 is abundantly expressed in most types of tumors. We then analyzed the gene alteration profiles, protein expressions, prognoses, and immune reactivities of KIFC1 in more than 10,000 samples from several well-established databases. In addition, we conducted a gene set enrichment analysis to investigate the potential mechanisms for the roles of KIFC1 in carcinogenesis. The pan-cancer analysis of KIFC1 demonstrates significant statistical correlations of the KIFC1 expression with the clinical prognoses, the oncogenic signature gene sets, the myeloid-derived suppressor cell infiltration, the ImmunoScore, the immune checkpoints, the microsatellite instabilities, and the tumor mutational burdens across multiple tumors. These data may provide important information on the understanding of the role and mechanisms of KIFC1 in carcinogenesis and immunotherapy, as well as on the clinical progression of a variety of cancers.

Prognostic Value and Immunological Role of KIFC1 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

As one of the members of the kinesin family, the role and potential mechanism of kinesin family member C1 (KIFC1) in the development of liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC), especially in the immune infiltration, have not been fully elucidated. In this study, multiple databases and immunohistochemistry were employed to analyze the role and molecular mechanism including the immune infiltration of KIFC1 in LIHC. Generally, KIFC1 mRNA expression was overexpressed in LIHC tissues than normal tissues, and its protein was also highly expressed in the LIHC. KIFC1 mRNA expression was correlated with tumor grade and TNM staging, which was negatively correlated with overall survival and disease-free survival. Moreover, univariable and multivariate Cox analysis revealed that upregulated KIFC1 mRNA is an independent prognostic factor for LIHC. The KIFC1 promoter methylation level was negatively associated with KIFC1 mRNA expression and advanced stages and grade in LIHC. The different methylation sites of KIFC1 had a different effect on the prognosis of LIHC. Specifically, the KIFC1 mRNA expression level showed intense correlation with tumor immunity, such as tumor-infiltrating immune cells and immune scores as well as multiple immune-related genes. Moreover, KIFC1 co-expressed with some immune checkpoints and related to the responses to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) and chemotherapies. Significant GO analysis showed that genes correlated with KIFC1 served as catalytic activity, acting on DNA, tubulin binding, histone binding, ATPase activity, and protein serine/threonine kinase activity. KEGG pathway analysis showed that these genes related to KIFC1 are mainly enriched in signal pathways such as cell cycle, spliceosome, pyrimidine metabolism, and RNA transport. Conclusively, KIFC1 was upregulated and displayed a prognostic value in LIHC. Moreover, KIFC1 may be involved in the LIHC progression partially through immune evasion and serve as a predictor of ICB therapies and chemotherapies.

The functions of kinesin and kinesin-related proteins in eukaryotes

Kinesins constitute a superfamily of ATP-driven microtubule motor enzymes that convert the chemical energy of ATP hydrolysis into mechanical work along microtubule tracks. Kinesins are found in all eukaryotic organisms and are essential to all eukaryotic cells, involved in diverse cellular functions such as microtubule dynamics and morphogenesis, chromosome segregation, spindle formation and elongation and transport of organelles. In this review, we explore recently reported functions of kinesins in eukaryotes and compare their specific cargoes in both plant and animal kingdoms to understand the possible roles of uncharacterized motors in a kingdom based on their reported functions in other kingdoms.

Microtubule motors in centrosome homeostasis: A target for cancer therapy?

Cancer is a grievous concern to human health, owing to a massive heterogeneity in its cause and impact. Dysregulation (numerical, positional and/or structural) of centrosomes is one of the notable factors among those that promote onset and progression of cancers. In a normal dividing cell, a pair of centrosomes forms two poles, thereby governing the formation of a bipolar spindle assembly. A large number of cancer cells, however, harbor supernumerary centrosomes, which mimic the bipolar arrangement in normal cells by centrosome clustering (CC) into two opposite poles, thus developing a pseudo-bipolar spindle assembly. Manipulation of centrosome homeostasis is the paramount pre-requisite for the evasive strategy of CC in cancers. Out of the varied factors that uphold centrosome integrity, microtubule motors (MiMos) play a critical role. Categorized as dyneins and kinesins, MiMos are involved in cohesion of centrosomes, and also facilitate the maintenance of the numerical, positional and structural integrity of centrosomes. Herein, we elucidate the decisive mechanisms undertaken by MiMos to mediate centrosome homeostasis, and how dysregulation of the same might lead to CC in cancer cells. Understanding the impact of MiMos on CC might open up avenues toward a credible therapeutic target against diverse cancers.

Poly-aneuploid cancer cells promote evolvability, generating lethal cancer

Cancer cells utilize the forces of natural selection to evolve evolvability allowing a constant supply of heritable variation that permits a cancer species to evolutionary track changing hazards and opportunities. Over time, the dynamic tumor ecosystem is exposed to extreme, catastrophic changes in the conditions of the tumor-natural (e.g., loss of blood supply) or imposed (therapeutic). While the nature of these catastrophes may be varied or unique, their common property may be to doom the current cancer phenotype unless it evolves rapidly. Poly-aneuploid cancer cells (PACCs) may serve as efficient sources of heritable variation that allows cancer cells to evolve rapidly, speciate, evolutionarily track their environment, and most critically for patient outcome and survival, permit evolutionary rescue, therapy resistance, and metastasis. As a conditional evolutionary strategy, they permit the cancer cells to accelerate evolution under stress and slow down the generation of heritable variation when conditions are more favorable or when the cancer cells are closer to an evolutionary optimum. We hypothesize that they play a critical and outsized role in lethality by their increased capacity for invasion and motility, for enduring novel and stressful environments, and for generating heritable variation that can be dispensed to their 2N+ aneuploid progeny that make up the bulk of cancer cells within a tumor, providing population rescue in response to therapeutic stress. Targeting PACCs is essential to cancer therapy and patient cure-without the eradication of the resilient PACCs, cancer will recur in treated patients.

Characterization and distribution of sialic acids in human testicular seminoma

Aberrant content of sialic acids (Sias) has been observed in various human cancer types in different organs. Sias have been implicated in cancerous transformation, invasiveness and metastasis, and in the escaping of cancer cells from immune surveillance. Indeed, Sias are commonly regarded as important biomarkers to distinguish cancer cells from their healthy counterparts. However, scarce and not exhaustive investigations have been performed on Sia content in testicular cancers and, in particular, in seminoma, one of the most common malignant testicular tumors. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the content and distribution of Sias with different glycosidic linkage, namely α2,3 and α2,6 galactose- or N-acetyl-galactosamine-linked Sias and polymeric Sia (polySia), in the germinal and stromal components of human testes affected by seminoma compared to normal testicular tissue. Structural changes in seminoma tissue were examined using hematoxylin-eosin staining. α2,3 and α2,6 linked Sias were evaluated by lectin histochemistry (Maackia amurensis agglutinin (MAA) and Sambucus nigra agglutinin (SNA)), while confocal immunofluorescence was used for polySia detection. Histopathological findings in seminoma tissue included loss of seminiferous tubules replaced by clusters of uniform polygonal cells with a clear cytoplasm, bundles of fibrotic tissue, numerous microvessels and some atrophic tubules. The content of α2,3 and α2,6 linked Sias was lost in almost all seminoma components respect to normal tissue, with the exception of microvessels in which it was higher. On the contrary, polySia level was increased in all the seminoma components compared to normal testicular tissue. Our findings suggest that an aberrant content of different Sias might have important and differential roles in seminoma development and progression. In particular, polySia might be implicated in seminoma progression by promoting cancer invasiveness and regulating the cross-talk between cancer cells, reactive stroma and vessels. Thus, the possibility that polySia might represent an important biomarker for seminoma deserves further investigation.

Kinesin Family Member C1 (KIFC1) Accelerates Proliferation and Invasion of Endometrial Cancer Cells Through Modulating the PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway

Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common cancers among women worldwide. Kinesin family member C1 (KIFC1) has been demonstrated to play crucial roles in various tumors. However, the function of KIFC1 in EC remains to be revealed. In this study, upregulation of KIFC1 expression in human EC tissues was found from analysis on data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and positively correlated with short survival outcome of EC patients. In addition, the mRNA and protein levels of KIFC1 were confirmed to be up-regulated in EC cells (Ishikawa, HEC-1B, HEC-1A and KLE) compared to human normal endometrial stromal cells (hESCs) by quantitative real time PCR and western blot. In vitro functional experiments showed that overexpression of KIFC1 promoted proliferation, migration and invasion of EC cells, while KIFC1 depletion showed the opposite results. Moreover, KIFC1 knockdown suppressed tumor growth in mice. Further mechanism analysis showed that KIFC1 participated in the regulation of EC progression through regulating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Collectively, KIFC1 promoted proliferation and invasion through modulating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in EC, implying that KIFC1 might provide a promising therapeutic target for the therapy of EC.

Changes in the telocyte/CD34+ stromal cell and α-SMA+ myoid cell networks in human testicular seminoma

Telocytes (TCs), also known as CD34+ stromal/interstitial cells, have recently been identified within the connective tissue of a variety of organs including the normal human testis. Testicular TCs appear to constitute a widespread reticular network distributed either in the peritubular or in the intertubular stromal spaces where they have been suggested to play different roles, such as participation to testis morphogenesis, postnatal preservation of the normal tissue/organ three-dimensional structure, and regulation of spermatogenesis and androgen hormone secretion and release. Although increasing evidence indicates that TCs may be involved in the pathophysiology of various diseases, no study has yet reported possible changes in these cells within the stromal compartment of seminoma, one of the most frequent malignant testicular cancers in humans. Therefore, here we carried out the first investigation of the presence and tissue distribution of TCs/CD34+ stromal cells in human testicular seminoma in comparison with normal human testis using either CD34 immunohistochemistry or CD34/CD31 and CD34/α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) double immunofluorescence analyses. In seminoma tissue sections, we observed an overall loss of TCs (CD34+/CD31- stromal cells) accompanying a severe degeneration of the normal architecture of seminiferous tubules and stromal tissue associated with dense cellularity increase and presence of interstitial fibrosis. Noteworthy, in the seminoma tissue the disappearance of TCs was paralleled by an expansion of α-SMA+ myoid cells. Moreover, the CD34+/CD31+ blood vessel network was greatly expanded, while steroidogenic Leydig cells were undetectable in seminoma specimens. Since TCs are emerging as important regulators of tissue and organ homeostasis, collectively the present findings indicate that the possible pathophysiologic implications of the loss of TCs in human testicular seminoma should not be further overlooked.

KIFC1 promotes the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common type of malignant tumor worldwide with a high mortality rate. In the past 20 years, the morbidity rate of HCC has increased. Progress has been made in the clinical diagnosis and therapy for HCC. However, due to the high heterogeneity and metastasis targeted therapy for HCC exhibits great promise, and novel therapeutic targets for HCC are urgently required. Kinesin family member C1 (KIFC1) is a member of the kinesin superfamily of proteins. Previous studies have indicated a potential association between KIFC1 and cancer progression. However, the potential role of KIFC1 in the development of HCC remains unclear. The present study aimed to explore the function of KIFC1 in HCC. Immunohistochemical (IHC) assays were performed to explore the KIF15 expression levels in 74 samples of HCC and corresponding non-tumor tissues. The potential association between KIF15 expression levels and clinical features was analyzed, and the effects of KIF15 on cell proliferation of HCC were detected by colony formation and MTT assays. In addition, the proliferation-related proteins Ki67 and PCNA were detected by western blotting. The possible effects of KIF15 on tumor growth were measured in mice. The results demonstrated that a high expression level of KIFC1 was associated with poor prognosis of HCC. Further results indicated that KIFC1 promoted cell proliferation of HCC in vitro. In addition, knockdown of KIFC1 suppressed tumor formation and growth in mice. Therefore, these results provide a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of HCC.

Prognostic and clinicopathological significance of kinesin family member C1 in various cancers: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Kinesin family member C1 (KIFC1), a C-type kinesin motor protein, plays important roles in centrosome assembly and intracellular transport. Numerous studies have focused on the prognostic value of KIFC1 in malignant tumors and the relationship between KIFC1 expression and clinicopathological traits of cancer patients, but the studies remain controversial. And no meta-analysis has yet shown the association between KIFC1 and various cancers.

METHODS

Systematic retrieval was carried out within several databases, including PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Wanfang and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). In addition, hazard ratios (HR) and relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to examine the risk or hazard correlation by Stata SE15.1.

RESULTS

Eleven studies with the overall 2424 participants were included in this research. High KIFC1 expression was remarkably correlated with worse OS (HR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.07-1.60) and poorer relapse-free survival (HR = 2.28, 95% CI = 1.75-2.80). In subgroup analysis, high KIFC1 expression was a negative predictor for OS in patients with ovarian cancer (P < .001), breast cancer (P < .001), hepatocellular carcinoma (P < .001), and non-small cell lung cancer (P < .001), but not for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (P = .246). Moreover, high levels of KIFC1 were related with positive lymph node metastasis (RR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.01-1.50, P = .041) and advanced tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage (RR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.27-1.89, P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

KIFC1 overexpression indicates poor prognosis and more serious clinicopathological characteristics in kinds of malignancies. Thus, we conclude that KIFC1 could be a target for clinical diagnosis and treatment of various cancers.

Kinesin family member C1 accelerates bladder cancer cell proliferation and induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition via Akt/GSK3β signaling

Kinesin family member C1 (KIFC1) is implicated in the clustering of multiple centrosomes to maintain tumor survival and is thought to be an oncogene in several kinds of cancers. In our experiments, we first performed bioinformatics analysis to investigate the expression levels of KIFC1 in bladder cancer (BC) specimens and normal bladder epitheliums and then, using our samples, verified findings by quantitative real‐time PCR and western blotting assays. All data showed that KIFC1 was significantly upregulated in BC specimens at both the mRNA and protein levels. Immunohistochemical studies in a cohort of 152 paraffin‐embedded BC tissues displayed that upregulated expression of KIFC1 clearly correlated with pT status (P = .014) and recurrent status (P = .002). Kaplan‐Meier survival analysis and log‐rank test indicated that patients with BC with high KIFC1 expression had both shorter cancer‐specific survival (P < .001) and recurrence‐free survival time (P < .001) than those with low KIFC1 expression. Furthermore, ectopic downregulation of KIFC1 weakened BC cell proliferation and migration both in vitro and in vivo, whereas upregulation of KIFC1 enhanced this in vitro. Overexpression of KIFC1 phosphorylated GSK3β and promoted Snail through activating AKT (protein kinase B0) to induce proliferation and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and, therefore, substantially promoted BC migration and metastasis. Our study revealed an oncogenic role for KIFC1 to promote BC cell proliferation and EMT via Akt/GSK3β signaling; KIFC1 might be a promising prognostic biomarker as well as a therapeutic target for BC.

Identification of KIF11 As a Novel Target in Meningioma

Kinesins play an important role in many physiological functions including intracellular vesicle transport and mitosis. The emerging role of kinesins in different cancers led us to investigate the expression and functional role of kinesins in meningioma. Therefore, we re-analyzed our previous microarray dataset of benign, atypical, and anaplastic meningiomas (n = 62) and got evidence for differential expression of five kinesins (KIFC1, KIF4A, KIF11, KIF14 and KIF20A). Further validation in an extended study sample (n = 208) revealed a significant upregulation of these genes in WHO°I to °III meningiomas (WHO°I n = 61, WHO°II n = 88, and WHO°III n = 59), which was most pronounced in clinically more aggressive tumors of the same WHO grade. Immunohistochemical staining confirmed a WHO grade-associated upregulated protein expression in meningioma tissues. Furthermore, high mRNA expression levels of KIFC1, KIF11, KIF14 and KIF20A were associated with shorter progression-free survival. On a functional level, knockdown of kinesins in Ben-Men-1 cells and in the newly established anaplastic meningioma cell line NCH93 resulted in a significantly inhibited tumor cell proliferation upon siRNA-mediated downregulation of KIF11 in both cell lines by up to 95% and 71%, respectively. Taken together, in this study we were able to identify the prognostic and functional role of several kinesin family members of which KIF11 exhibits the most promising properties as a novel prognostic marker and therapeutic target, which may offer new treatment options for aggressive meningiomas.

Proteomic interaction profiling reveals KIFC1 as a factor involved in early targeting of F508del-CFTR to degradation

Misfolded F508del-CFTR, the main molecular cause of the recessive disorder cystic fibrosis, is recognized by the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) quality control (ERQC) resulting in its retention and early degradation. The ERQC mechanisms rely mainly on molecular chaperones and on sorting motifs, whose presence and exposure determine CFTR retention or exit through the secretory pathway. Arginine-framed tripeptides (AFTs) are ER retention motifs shown to modulate CFTR retention. However, the interactions and regulatory pathways involved in this process are still largely unknown. Here, we used proteomic interaction profiling and global bioinformatic analysis to identify factors that interact differentially with F508del-CFTR and F508del-CFTR without AFTs (F508del-4RK-CFTR) as putative regulators of this specific ERQC checkpoint. Using LC-MS/MS, we identified kinesin family member C1 (KIFC1) as a stronger interactor with F508del-CFTR versus F508del-4RK-CFTR. We further validated this interaction showing that decreasing KIFC1 levels or activity stabilizes the immature form of F508del-CFTR by reducing its degradation. We conclude that the current approach is able to identify novel putative therapeutic targets that can be ultimately used to the benefit of CF patients.

CSE1L participates in regulating cell mitosis in human seminoma

Objectives

CSE1L has been reported to be highly expressed in various tumours. Testicular germ cell tumours are common among young males, and seminoma is the major type. However, whether CSE1L has functions in the seminoma is unclear.

Materials and methods

The expression of CSE1L was detected by immunohistochemistry in seminoma tissues and non‐tumour normal testis tissues from patients. CSE1L distribution during cell mitosis was determined by immunofluorescent staining with CSE1L, α‐tubulin and γ‐tubulin antibodies. The effects of Cse1L knockdown on cell proliferation and cell cycle progression were determined by Cell Counting Kit‐8 assay, flow cytometry, PH3 staining and bromodeoxyuridine incorporation assay.

Results

CSE1L was significantly enriched in the seminoma tissue compared with the non‐tumour normal testis tissue. CSE1L also co‐localized with α‐tubulin in the cells with a potential to divide. In the seminoma cell line TCam‐2, CSE1L was associated with the spindles and the centrosomes during cell division. The knockdown of CSE1L in TCam‐2 cells attenuated the cells’ proliferative capacity. Cell cycle assay revealed that the CSE1L‐deficient cells were mainly arrested in the G0/G1 phase and moderately delayed in the G2/M phase. The proportion of cells with multipolar spindle and abnormal spindle geometry was obviously increased by CSE1L expression silencing in the TCam‐2 cells.

Conclusions

Overall, these findings showed that CSE1L plays a pivotal role in maintaining cell proliferation and cell division in seminomas.