Elevated expression of KIF18A enhances cell proliferation and predicts poor survival in human clear cell renal carcinoma

Development and validation of a novel anoikis-related gene signature in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Background

Despite numerous treatments available, clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) remains a deadly and invasive cancer. Anoikis-related genes (ARGs) are essential regulators of tumor metastasis and development. However, the potential roles of ARGs in ccRCC remain unclear.

Methods

Based on the TCGA-KIRC cohort and GeneCards database, we identified differentially expressed ARGs in ccRCC. Then a 4 ARGs risk model was created by Cox regression and LASSO. The Kaplan-Meier and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were utilized to verify the predictive efficacy of the prognostic signature. Subsequently, the possible molecular mechanism of ARGs was investigated by functional enrichment analysis. To assess the immune infiltration, immune checkpoint genes, and immune function in various risk groups, single sample gene set enrichment (ssGSEA) algorithm was employed. Furthermore, the low-risk and high-risk groups were compared in terms of tumor mutation burden (TMB). Ultimately, we analyzed the protein expression of these four ARGs utilizing the western blot test.

Results

Four genes were utilized to create a risk signature that may predict prognosis, enabling the classification of KIRC patients into groups with low or high risk. The reliability of the signature was examined utilizing survival analysis and ROC analysis. According to the multivariate Cox regression result, the risk score was a reliable independent prognostic predictor for KIRC patients. The novel risk model could differentiate between KIRC patients with various clinical outcomes and represent KIRC's specific immune status. An analysis of the correlation of TMB and risk score indicated a positive correlation between them, with high TMB being potentially linked to worse outcomes.

Conclusion

Based on our findings, the prognostic signature of ARGs may be employed as an independent prognostic factor for ccRCC patients. It may introduce alternative perspectives on prognosis evaluation and serve as a prominent reference for personalized and precise therapy in KIRC.

KIF18A improves migration and invasion of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells through inhibiting PTEN signaling

BACKGROUND

Kinesin family member 18A (KIF18A) is involved in the development of a variety of human malignancies. However, we have never known the influences of KIF18A on colorectal cancer (CRC). The study is designed to investigate the effect and molecular mechanism of KIF18A on the progression of colorectal cancer.

METHODS

We have not only analyzed the database using GEO, but have examined the effect of KIF18A on the development of CRC by subcutaneous tumorigenesis in nude mice. HE staining was used to observe tumor size. Besides, we make use of Western blotting to monitor the expression of related proteins. In addition, the scratch wound assay and Transwell assay were conducted to detect the effect of KIF18A on the migration and invasion of CRC cells.

RESULTS

The results of GEO database analysis suggested that KIF18A had a positive correlation with the growth of CRC. The results of subcutaneous tumorigenesis and HE staining in nude mice explained that KIF18A promoted the progression of CRC. Both scratch wound assay and Transwell indicated that the migration and invasion of CRC could be promoted by KIF18A. The results of Western blot illustrated that KIF18A could forward the migration and invasion of CRC cells, and inhibit PTEN, which promoted the activation of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, thus bringing about the expression of MMP2 and MMP9.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, KIF18A can further the activation of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway by means of inhibiting PTEN transcription. Therefore, it is inferred that that KIF18A is a therapeutic target for CRC.

Dynamic Regulation Genes at Microtubule Plus Ends: A Novel Class of Glioma Biomarkers

Simple Summary

Microtubule plus-end-related genes (MPERGs) encode a group of proteins that specifically aggregate at the microtubule plus ends to play critical biological roles in the cell cycle, cell movement, ciliogenesis, and neuronal development by coordinating microtubule assembly and dynamics; however, the MPERG correlations and their clinical significance in glioma are not fully understood. This study is the first to systematically analyze and define a seven-gene signature (CTTNBP2, KIF18A, NAV1, SLAIN2, SRCIN1, TRIO, and TTBK2) and nomogram model closely associated with clinical factors and the tumor microenvironment as a reliable and independent prognostic biomarker to guide personalized choices of immunotherapy and chemotherapy for glioma patients.

Abstract

Glioma is the most prevalent and aggressive primary nervous system tumor with an unfavorable prognosis. Microtubule plus-end-related genes (MPERGs) play critical biological roles in the cell cycle, cell movement, ciliogenesis, and neuronal development by coordinating microtubule assembly and dynamics. This research seeks to systematically explore the oncological characteristics of these genes in microtubule-enriched glioma, focusing on developing a novel MPERG-based prognostic signature to improve the prognosis and provide more treatment options for glioma patients. First, we thoroughly analyzed and identified 45 differentially expressed MPERGs in glioma. Based on these genes, glioma patients were well distinguished into two subgroups with survival and tumor microenvironment infiltration differences. Next, we further screened the independent prognostic genes (CTTNBP2, KIF18A, NAV1, SLAIN2, SRCIN1, TRIO, and TTBK2) using 36 prognostic-related differentially expressed MPERGs to construct a signature with risk stratification and prognostic prediction ability. An increased risk score was related to the malignant progression of glioma. Therefore, we also designed a nomogram model containing clinical factors to facilitate the clinical use of the risk signature. The prediction accuracy of the signature and nomogram model was verified using The Cancer Genome Atlas and Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas datasets. Finally, we examined the connection between the signature and tumor microenvironment. The signature positively correlated with tumor microenvironment infiltration, especially immunoinhibitors and the tumor mutation load, and negatively correlated with microsatellite instability and cancer stemness. More importantly, immune checkpoint blockade treatment and drug sensitivity analyses confirmed that this prognostic signature was helpful in anticipating the effect of immunotherapy and chemotherapy. In conclusion, this research is the first study to define and validate an MPERG-based signature closely associated with the tumor microenvironment as a reliable and independent prognostic biomarker to guide personalized choices of immunotherapy and chemotherapy for glioma patients.

Comprehensive Pan-Cancer Analysis of KIF18A as a Marker for Prognosis and Immunity

KIF18A belongs to the Kinesin family, which participates in the occurrence and progression of tumors. However, few pan-cancer analyses have been performed on KIF18A to date. We used multiple public databases such as TIMER, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), and Human Protein Atlas (HPA) to explore KIF18A mRNA expression in 33 tumors. We performed immunohistochemistry on liver cancer and pancreatic cancer tissues and corresponding normal tissues to examine the expression of KIF18A protein. Univariate Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were applied to detect the effect of KIF18A on overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and progression-free interval (PFI) of patients with these tumors. Subsequently, we explored KIF18A gene alterations in different tumor tissues using cBioPortal. The relationship between KIF18A and clinical characteristics, tumor microenvironment (TME), immune regulatory genes, immune checkpoints, tumor mutational burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), mismatch repairs (MMRs), DNA methylation, RNA methylation, and drug sensitivity was applied for further study using the R language. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was utilized to explore the molecular mechanism of KIF18A. Bioinformatic analysis and immunohistochemical experiments confirmed that KIF18A was up-regulated in 27 tumors and was correlated with the T stage, N stage, pathological stage, histological grade, and Ki-67 index in many cancers. The overexpression of KIF18A had poor OS, DSS, and PFI in adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC), kidney renal papillary cell carcinoma (KIRP), brain lower-grade glioma (LGG), liver cancer (LIHC), lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), and pancreatic cancer (PAAD). Univariate and multivariate regression analysis confirmed KIF18A as an independent prognostic factor for LIHC and PAAD. The mutation frequency of KIF18A is the highest in endometrial cancer. KIF18A expression levels were positively associated with immunocyte infiltration, immune regulatory genes, immune checkpoints, TMB, MSI, MMRs, DNA methylation, RNA methylation, and drug sensitivity in certain cancers. In addition, we discovered that KIF18A participated in the cell cycle at the single-cell level and GSEA analysis for most cancers. These findings suggested that KIF18A could be regarded as a latent prognostic marker and a new target for cancer immunological therapy.

Tubular IKKβ Deletion Alleviates Acute Ischemic Kidney Injury and Facilitates Tissue Regeneration

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common renal injury leading to relevant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Most of the clinical cases of AKI are caused by ischemia reperfusion (I/R) injury with renal ischemia injury followed by reperfusion injury and activation of the innate immune response converging to NF-ĸB pathway induction. Despite the clear role of NF-ĸB in inflammation, it has recently been acknowledged that NF-ĸB may impact other cell functions. To identify NF-ĸB function with respect to metabolism, vascular function and oxidative stress after I/R injury and to decipher in detail the underlying mechanism, we generated a transgenic mouse model with targeted deletion of IKKβ along the tubule and applied I/R injury followed by its analysis after 2 and 14 days after I/R injury. Tubular IKKβ deletion ameliorated renal function and reduced tissue damage. RNAseq data together with immunohistochemical, biochemical and morphometric analysis demonstrated an ameliorated vascular organization and mRNA expression profile for increased angiogenesis in mice with tubular IKKβ deletion at 2 days after I/R injury. RNAseq and protein analysis indicate an ameliorated metabolism, oxidative species handling and timely-adapted cell proliferation and apoptosis as well as reduced fibrosis in mice with tubular IKKβ deletion at 14 days after I/R injury. In conclusion, mice with tubular IKKβ deletion upon I/R injury display improved renal function and reduced tissue damage and fibrosis in association with improved vascularization, metabolism, reactive species disposal and fine-tuned cell proliferation.

The Proliferation of Glioblastoma Is Contributed to Kinesin Family Member 18A and Medical Data Analysis of GBM

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) is widely known as a classical kind of malignant tumor originating in the brain with high morbidity and mortality. Targeted therapy has shown great promise in treating glioblastoma, but more promising targets, including effective therapeutic targets, remain to be identified. 18A (KIF18A) is a microtubule-based motor protein that is dysregulated and involved in the progression of multiple human cancers. However, the possible effects of KIF18A on GBM progression are still unclear.

Methods: We performed DEG analysis, medical data analysis, and network analysis to identify critical genes affecting glioma progression. We also performed immunohistochemical analysis of the KIF18A levels in 94 patients with glioblastoma and the associated surrounding tissues. Patients were divided into two groups according to the high and low expression. Using a clinical analysis, we showed the potential associations between KIF18A expression and clinical characteristics of 94 GBM patients. We then investigated the effects of KIF18A on GBM cell proliferation by colony establishment, MTT, and immune blogging. The possible effect of KIF18A on GBM tumor growth was determined in mice.

Results: We identified KIF18A as a potential gene affecting GBM progression. We further demonstrated that GBM tissues expressed KIF18A much higher, and its presentation was associated with recurrence in glioblastoma patients. We believe KIF18A promotes GBM cell proliferation.

Conclusion: We demonstrated that KIF18A could be a promising target in treating GBM.

KIF18B promotes tumor progression in osteosarcoma by activating β-catenin

Objective: Osteosarcoma is a common primary highly malignant bone tumor. Kinesin family member 18B (KIF18B) has been identified as a potential oncogene involved in the development and metastasis of several cancer types. While KIF18B overexpression in osteosarcoma tissue is clearly detected, its specific function in the disease process remains to be established.

Methods:KIF18B expression was assessed in osteosarcoma tissues and cells. We additionally evaluated the effects of KIF18B on proliferation, migration, and invasion of osteosarcoma cells, both in vitro and in vivo.

Results: Our results showed overexpression of KIF18B in osteosarcoma tissues and cells. Knockdown of KIF18B induced G1/S phase arrest and significantly inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion of osteosarcoma cells, both in vitro and in vivo. KIF18B regulated β-catenin expression at the transcriptional level by controlling nuclear aggregation of ATF2 and at the post-transcriptional level by interacting with the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressor gene in osteosarcoma cells.

Conclusions: KIF18B plays a carcinogenic role in osteosarcoma by regulating expression of β-catenin transcriptionally via decreasing nuclear aggregation of ATF2 or post-transcriptionally through interactions with APC. Our collective findings support the potential utility of KIF18B as a novel prognostic biomarker for osteosarcoma.

KIF18A knockdown reduces proliferation, migration, invasion and enhances radiosensitivity of esophageal cancer

Kinesin family member 18A (KIF18A) is significantly overexpressed and is related to the poor prognosis of human cancers. However, the function of KIF18A in esophageal cancer (EC) is still unclear. Human EC cell lines were used in this study. KIF18A expression in human tissues was assessed using Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis 2.0 (GEPIA2). The expressions of KIF18A or IGF2BP3 in EC cells were detected using qRT-PCR or WB. Cells were transfected using si-KIF18A, si-IGF2BP3, and plasmid IGF2BP3. The abilities of proliferation, migration, and invasion were detected by EdU, wound-healing, and transwell assay. The interaction between KIF18A and IGF2BP3 was predicted by starBase v3.0 and studied by RIP and RNA stability assay. Colony formation assay was used to reflect the changes of radiosensitivity in EC cells. KIF18A was upregulated in EC, and KIF18A knockdown inhibited EC cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and radioresistance. The prediction in starBase and RIP assay results showed that KIF18A mRNA could bind to IGF2BP3 protein in EC cells. RNA stability assay was performed to confirm that IGF2BP3 affects mRNA stability of KIF18A. Further studies also showed that IGF2BP3 could positively regulate KIF18A on proliferation, migration, invasion, and radioresistance. Our findings first revealed an oncogenic effect of KIF18A in human EC progression. KIF18A expression was associated with radioresistance of EC cells. The binding relationship between KIF18A and IGF2BP3 might influence the mRNA stability of KIF18A in EC cell lines.

Kinesin family member 18B regulates the proliferation and invasion of human prostate cancer cells

Expression of kinesin family member 18B (KIF18B), an ATPase with key roles in cell division, is deregulated in many cancers, but its involvement in prostate cancer (PCa) is unclear. Here, we investigated the expression and function of KIF18B in human PCa specimens and cell lines using bioinformatics analyses, immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence microscopy, and RT-qPCR and western blot analyses. KIF18B was overexpressed in PCa specimens compared with paracancerous tissues and was associated with poorer disease-free survival. In vitro, KIF18B knockdown in PCa cell lines promoted cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, and inhibited cell apoptosis, while KIF18B overexpression had the opposite effects. In a mouse xenograft model, KIF18B overexpression accelerated and promoted the growth of PCa tumors. Bioinformatics analysis of control and KIF18B-overexpressing PCa cells showed that genes involved in the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway were significantly enriched among the differentially expressed genes. Consistent with this observation, we found that KIF18B overexpression activates the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway in PCa cells both in vitro and in vivo. Collectively, our results suggest that KIF18B plays a crucial role in PCa via activation of the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway, and raise the possibility that KIF18B could have utility as a novel biomarker for PCa.

Effect of KIF22 on promoting proliferation and migration of gastric cancer cells via MAPK-ERK pathways

Background

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most globally prevalent cancers in the world. The pathogenesis of GC has not been fully elucidated, and there still lacks effective targeted therapeutics. The influence of altered kinesin superfamily protein 22 (KIF22) expression in GC progression is still unclearly. The aim of this study was to investigate the KIF22 effects on GC and related mechanisms.

Methods

Gastric carcinoma tissues and matching non-cancerous tissues were collected from patients with GC who have accepted a radical gastrectomy in Lanzhou University Second Hospital from May 2013 to December 2014. The expression of KIF22 was examined in GC of 67 patients and 20 para-carcinoma tissues by immunochemical staining. The relationship between the expression of KIF22 and clinicopathologic characteristics was next investigated in the remaining 52 patients except for 15 patients who did not complete follow-up for 5 years. Cell viability was performed via 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) test and colony formation assay in the MGC-803 and BGC-823 GC cells. Cell scratch and trans-well invasion assay was performed to assess migration ability in the MGC-803 and BGC-823 GC cells. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) pathway enrichment analysis was performed to explore the potential functions. Cell cycle was detected by flow cytometry. In addition, the two GC cell lines were used to elucidate the underlying mechanism of KIF22 in GC in vitro via assessing the effects on mitogen-activated protein kinase and extracellular regulated protein kinases (MAPK/ERK) signal transduction pathway-related expressions by Western blotting assays. The differences were compared by t tests, one-way analysis of variance, and Chi-squared tests.

Results

The study showed that KIF22 was up-regulated in GC, and KIF22 high expression was significantly related to differentiation degree (χ² = 12.842, P = 0.002) and poorly overall survivals. GSEA pathway enrichment analysis showed that KIF22 was correlated with the cell cycle. Silence of KIF22 decreased the ability of the proliferation and migration in gastric cells, induced G1/S phase cell cycle arrest via regulating the MAPK-ERK pathways.

Conclusions

KIF22 protein level was negatively correlated with prognosis. KIF22 knockdown might inhibit proliferation and metastasis of GC cells via the MAPK-ERK signaling pathway.

A comprehensive enhancer screen identifies TRAM2 as a key and novel mediator of YAP oncogenesis

BACKGROUND

Frequent activation of the co-transcriptional factor YAP is observed in a large number of solid tumors. Activated YAP associates with enhancer loci via TEAD4-DNA-binding protein and stimulates cancer aggressiveness. Although thousands of YAP/TEAD4 binding-sites are annotated, their functional importance is unknown. Here, we aim at further identification of enhancer elements that are required for YAP functions.

RESULTS

We first apply genome-wide ChIP profiling of YAP to systematically identify enhancers that are bound by YAP/TEAD4. Next, we implement a genetic approach to uncover functions of YAP/TEAD4-associated enhancers, demonstrate its robustness, and use it to reveal a network of enhancers required for YAP-mediated proliferation. We focus on EnhancerTRAM2, as its target gene TRAM2 shows the strongest expression-correlation with YAP activity in nearly all tumor types. Interestingly, TRAM2 phenocopies the YAP-induced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion phenotypes and correlates with poor patient survival. Mechanistically, we identify FSTL-1 as a major direct client of TRAM2 that is involved in these phenotypes. Thus, TRAM2 is a key novel mediator of YAP-induced oncogenic proliferation and cellular invasiveness.

CONCLUSIONS

YAP is a transcription co-factor that binds to thousands of enhancer loci and stimulates tumor aggressiveness. Using unbiased functional approaches, we dissect YAP enhancer network and characterize TRAM2 as a novel mediator of cellular proliferation, migration, and invasion. Our findings elucidate how YAP induces cancer aggressiveness and may assist diagnosis of cancer metastasis.

Network-based survival analysis to discover target genes for developing cancer immunotherapies and predicting patient survival

Recently, cancer immunotherapies have been life-savers, however, only a fraction of treated patients have durable responses. Consequently, statistical methods that enable the discovery of target genes for developing new treatments and predicting patient survival are of importance. This paper introduced a network-based survival analysis method and applied it to identify candidate genes as possible targets for developing new treatments. RNA-seq data from a mouse study was used to select differentially expressed genes, which were then translated to those in humans. We constructed a gene network and identified gene clusters using a training set of 310 human gliomas. Then we conducted gene set enrichment analysis to select the gene clusters with significant biological function. A penalized Cox model was built to identify a small set of candidate genes to predict survival. An independent set of 690 human glioma samples was used to evaluate predictive accuracy of the survival model. The areas under time-dependent ROC curves in both the training and validation sets are more than 90%, indicating strong association between selected genes and patient survival. Consequently, potential biomedical interventions targeting these genes might be able to alter their expressions and prolong patient survival.

Mechanism of Abnormal Chondrocyte Proliferation Induced by Piezo1-siRNA Exposed to Mechanical Stretch

Objective

To investigate the effect of small interfering RNA targeting mechanosensitive ion channel protein Piezo1 (Piezo1-siRNA) on abnormal chondrocyte proliferation exposed to mechanical stretch.

Methods

Construct and screen effective Piezo1-siRNA sequences and explore an appropriate method to transfect lentiviral vector into chondrocytes exposed to mechanical stretch. Western blot and RT-PCR were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression of Piezo1, Kif18A, and β-tubulin, respectively. Flow cytometry was used to measure the changes in the chondrocyte cycle. The proliferation of chondrocyte was evaluated by cell counting kit-8.

Results

According to the mRNA and protein expression of Piezo1, the effective siRNA sequence was successfully screened. Compared with the 0 h group, mechanical stretch upregulated the expression of Piezo1, Kif18A, and β-tubulin, resulting in chondrocyte cycle arrest and eventually inhibiting chondrocyte proliferation. Moreover, Piezo1-siRNA transfection effectively blocks this process and promotes the proliferation of chondrocyte.

Conclusion

Piezo1-siRNA can reduce the inhibition of chondrocyte proliferation induced by mechanical stretch via downregulating the expression of Kif18A and inhibiting the depolymerization of microtubules. Piezo1-siRNA plays a protective role in chondrocytes, which provides a potential method for the treatment of OA under abnormal mechanical stimulation.

Bioinformatics analysis of the genes involved in the extension of prostate cancer to adjacent lymph nodes by supervised and unsupervised machine learning methods: The role of SPAG1 and PLEKHF2

The present study aimed to identify the genes associated with the involvement of adjunct lymph nodes of patients with prostate cancer (PCa) and to provide valuable information for the identification of potential diagnostic biomarkers and pathological genes in PCa metastasis. The most important candidate genes were identified through several machine learning approaches including K-means clustering, neural network, Naïve Bayesian classifications and PCA with or without downsampling. In total, 21 genes associated with lymph nodes involvement were identified. Among them, nine genes have been identified in metastatic prostate cancer, six have been found in the other metastatic cancers and four in other local cancers. The amplification of the candidate genes was evaluated in the other PCa datasets. Besides, we identified a validated set of genes involved in the PCa metastasis. The amplification of SPAG1 and PLEKHF2 genes were associated with decreased survival in patients with PCa.

Kinesin KIF18A is a novel PUM-regulated target promoting mitotic progression and survival of a human male germ cell line

Regulation of proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle is crucial for the physiology of germ cells. Their malfunction contributes to infertility and germ cell tumours. The kinesin KIF18A is an important regulator of those processes in animal germ cells. Post-transcriptional regulation of KIF18A has not been extensively explored. Owing to the presence of PUM-binding elements (PBEs), KIF18A mRNA is a potential target of PUM proteins, where PUM refers to Pumilio proteins, RNA-binding proteins that act in post-transcriptional gene regulation. We conducted RNA co-immunoprecipitation combined with RT-qPCR, as well as luciferase reporter assays, by applying an appropriate luciferase construct encoding wild-type KIF18A 3'-UTR, upon PUM overexpression or knockdown in TCam-2 cells, representing human male germ cells. We found that KIF18A is repressed by PUM1 and PUM2. To study how this regulation influences KIF18A function, an MTS proliferation assay, and apoptosis and cell cycle analysis using flow cytometry, was performed upon KIF18A mRNA siRNA knockdown. KIF18A significantly influences proliferation, apoptosis and the cell cycle, with its effects being opposite to PUM effects. Repression by PUM proteins might represent one of mechanisms influencing KIF18A level in controlling proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis in TCam-2 cells.

Kinesin Family Member 18A (KIF18A) Contributes to the Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion of Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells In Vitro and In Vivo

Objective

To determine the expression levels of KIF18A in lung adenocarcinoma and its relationship with the clinicopathologic features of patients undergoing radical colectomy and explore the potential role in the progression of lung adenocarcinoma.

Methods

Immunohistochemical assays were performed to explore the expression levels of KIF18A in 82 samples of lung adenocarcinoma and corresponding normal tissues. According to the levels of KIF18A expression in lung adenocarcinoma tissue samples, patients were classified into the KIF18A high expression group and low expression group. Clinical data related to the perioperative clinical features (age, gender, smoking, tumor size, differentiation, clinical stage, and lymph node metastasis), the potential correlation between KIF18A expression levels, and clinical features were analyzed, and the effects of KIF18A on lung adenocarcinoma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were measured by colony formation assay, MTT assay, wound healing assay, and transwell assays. The possible effects of KIF18A on tumor growth and metastasis were measured in mice through tumor growth and tumor metastasis assays in vivo.

Results

KIF18A in lung adenocarcinoma tissues. Further, KIF18A was significantly associated to clinical characteristic features including the tumor size (P = 0.033) and clinical stage (P = 0.041) of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Our data also investigated that KIF18A depletion dramatically impairs the proliferation, migration, and invasion capacity of lung adenocarcinoma cells in vitro and inhibits tumor growth and metastasis in mice.

Conclusions

Our study reveals the involvement of KIF18A in the progression and metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma and provides a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma.

KIF18A promotes head and neck squamous cell carcinoma invasion and migration via activation of Akt signaling pathway

BACKGROUND

KIF18A has been shown to participate in the development of various human malignancies. However, the role of KIF18A in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains unknown. This study investigated the function of KIF18A in HNSCC as well as its possible mechanisms.

METHODS

In this study, we conducted in vitro experiments. First, we examined the effect of KIF18A on Tu686 and 6-10B cells via determining cell viability, colony formation ability and cell motility. And then, we examined that whether the carcinogenic effect of KIF18A is associated with Akt activation.

RESULTS

Our current study demonstrated that KIF18A expression was increased in HNSCC patients and its cell lines. Knockdown and overexpression of KIF18A in HNSCC cells indicated that KIF18A promoted cancer cell proliferation, invasion and migration. Moreover, these bioactivity changes in HNSCC cells were accompanied by enhanced Vimentin expression and suppressed E-cadherin expression induced by KIF18A. Further mechanistic analysis revealed that the carcinogenic effect of KIF18A is associated with Akt activation, and blocking the activity of Akt reversed the malignant progression caused by KIF18A overexpression in HNSCC cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Together, our study reveals that KIF18A accelerates the progression of HNSCC and that targeting KIF18A may be a potential therapeutic strategy for the HNSCC.

Integrative analysis of KIF4A, 9, 18A, and 23 and their clinical significance in low-grade glioma and glioblastoma

To determine the prognostic significance of kinesin superfamily gene (KIF) expression in patients with brain cancer, including low-grade glioma (LGG) and glioblastoma (GBM), we comprehensively analyzed KIFs in 515 LGG and 595 GBM patients. Among KIFs, KIF4A, 9, 18A, and 23 showed significant clinical implications in both LGG and GBM. The mRNA and protein expression levels of KIF4A, 9, 18A, and 23 were significantly increased in LGG and GBM compared with those in the normal control groups. The mRNA expression levels of KIF4A, 9, 18A, and 23 in LGG were significantly increased in the high-histologic-grade group compared with those with a low histologic grade. Genomic analysis showed that the percent of mRNA upregulation of KIF4A, 9, 18A, and 23 was higher than that of other gene alterations, including gene amplification, deep deletion, and missense mutation. In addition, LGG patients with KIF4A, 18A, and 23 gene alterations were significantly associated with a poor prognosis. In survival analysis, the group with high expression of KIF4A, 9, 18A, and 23 mRNA was significantly associated with a poor prognosis in both LGG and GBM patients. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) revealed that high mRNA expression of KIF4A, 18A, and 23 in LGG and GBM patients showed significant positive correlations with the cell cycle, E2F targets, G₂M checkpoint, Myc target, and mitotic spindle. By contrast, high mRNA expression of KIF9 in both LGG and GBM patients was significantly negatively correlated with the cell cycle, G₂M checkpoint, and mitotic spindle pathway. However, it was significantly positively correlated with EMT and angiogenesis. This study has extended our knowledge of KIF4A, 9, 18A, and 23 in LGG and GBM and shed light on their clinical relevance, which should help to improve the treatment and prognosis of LGG and GBM.

KIF18B promotes tumor progression through activating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in cervical cancer

Background

KIF18B was identified as a potential oncogene by analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas database.

Materials and methods

We assessed KIF18B expression and explored its clinical significance in cervical cancer tissues. We have also evaluated the effects of KIF18B on cervical cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion both in vitro and in vivo.

Results

Our results show that KIF18B is overexpressed in cervical cancer tissues and is associated with a large primary tumor size, an advanced FIGO stage, and an advanced tumor grade. Knockdown of KIF18B induces cell cycle G1-phase arrest and inhibits the proliferation, migration, and invasion of cervical cancer cells, whereas its overexpression promotes proliferation, migration, and invasion in these cells. Moreover, silencing of KIF18B reduces expression of CyclinD1, β-catenin, C-myc, and p-GSK3β expression.

Conclusion

These data suggest that KIF18B can serve as a novel oncogene that promotes the tumorigenicity of cervical cancer cells by activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Search for rare protein altering variants influencing susceptibility to multiple myeloma

The genetic basis underlying the inherited risk of developing multiple myeloma (MM) is largely unknown. To examine the impact of rare protein altering variants on the risk of developing MM we analyzed high-coverage exome sequencing data on 513 MM cases and 1,569 healthy controls, performing both single variant and gene burden tests. We did not identify any recurrent coding low-frequency alleles (1–5%) with moderate effect that were statistically associated with MM. In a gene burden analysis we did however identify a promising relationship between variation in the marrow kinetochore microtubule stromal gene KIF18A, which plays a role in control mitotic chromosome positioning dynamics, and risk of MM (P =3.6×10⁻⁶). Further analysis showed KIF18A displays a distinct pattern of expression across molecular subgroups of MM as well as being associated with patient survival. Our results inform future study design and provide a resource for contextualizing the impact of candidate MM susceptibility genes.

The role of kinesin KIF18A in the invasion and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma

Background

KIF18A is associated with a variety of tumours; however, the specific mechanism of action of KIF18A in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. In this study, in vitro and in vivo experiments were performed with the aim of exploring the potential function and molecular mechanism of kinesin KIF18A in the occurrence and development of HCC.

Methods

We detected the expression of KIF18A in tumour and adjacent tissues as well as cell proliferation, cell invasion and migration in hepatoma cells after silencing KIF18A. KIF18A-silenced hepatoma cells were subcutaneously injected into nude mice to verify the tumorigenicity of KIF18A. We also detected the expression of signal pathway-related proteins in hepatoma cells after KIF18A knockdown with the aim of exploring the association between KIF18A and related signalling pathways.

Results

The level of KIF18A protein was higher in liver cancer tissues than adjacent tissues. After silencing KIF18A in SMMC-7721 and HepG2 cells, cell growth was obviously inhibited; the migration and invasion abilities were significantly decreased and the in vivo tumour weight was decreased compared to the control group (0.201 ± 0.088 g vs 0.476 ± 0.126 g, p = 0.009). The expression of cell cycle-related protein (cyclin B1), invasion and metastasis-related proteins (MMP-7 and MMP-9) and Akt-related proteins in hepatoma cells was also decreased after knocking down KIF18A.

Conclusions

KIF18A may promote proliferation, invasion and metastasis of HCC cells by promoting the cell cycle signalling pathway as well as the Akt and MMP-7/MMP-9-related signalling pathways and may serve as a new target for the diagnosis and treatment of HCC.