Overexpression of NEK2 is correlated with poor prognosis in human clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Function of NEK2 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma and its effect on the tumor microenvironment

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have revealed the critical functions of NEK2 in controlling the cell cycle which is linked to poor prognosis in multiple tumor types, but less research has been devoted to clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).

METHODS

We downloaded clinical data from the gene expression omnibus (GEO) and TCGA databases together with transcriptional and mutational datasets. Strongly coexpressed genes with NEK2 were extracted from TCGA-KIRC cohort, and were submitted to Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) for functional analyses. According to NEK2 levels, the survival status, mutational characteristics, response to immunotherapy and sensitivity to drugs of the patients were studied. The potential correlations between NEK2 levels and immune cell state as well as immune cell infiltration were examined using the GEPIA, TIMER and TISIDB databases. Double immunofluorescence (IF) was performed to identify the NEK2 overexpression and relationship with CD8 in ccRCC.

RESULTS

The NEK2 gene was overexpressed and would enhance the nuclear division and cell cycle activities in ccRCC. ccRCC patients with high NEK2 expression had worse clinical outcomes, higher mutation burden and better therapeutic response. Moreover, NEK2 gene overexpression was positively related to various immune cell marker sets, which was also proved by validation cohort, and more infiltration of various immune cells.

CONCLUSION

ccRCC patients with NEK2 high expression have a poorer prognosis than those with NEK2 low expression, resulting from its function of promoting proliferation, accompanied by increased infiltration of CD8 + T cells and Tregs and T-cell exhaustion and will respond better to proper treatments.

Nek2A prevents centrosome clustering and induces cell death in cancer cells via KIF2C interaction

Unlike normal cells, cancer cells frequently exhibit supernumerary centrosomes, leading to formation of multipolar spindles that can trigger cell death. Nevertheless, cancer cells with supernumerary centrosomes escape the deadly consequences of unequal segregation of genomic material by coalescing their centrosomes into two poles. This unique trait of cancer cells presents a promising target for cancer therapy, focusing on selectively attacking cells with supernumerary centrosomes. Nek2A is a kinase involved in mitotic regulation, including the centrosome cycle, where it phosphorylates linker proteins to separate centrosomes. In this study, we investigated if Nek2A also prevents clustering of supernumerary centrosomes, akin to its separation function. Reduction of Nek2A activity, achieved through knockout, silencing, or inhibition, promotes centrosome clustering, whereas its overexpression results in inhibition of clustering. Significantly, prevention of centrosome clustering induces cell death, but only in cancer cells with supernumerary centrosomes, both in vitro and in vivo. Notably, none of the known centrosomal (e.g., CNAP1, Rootletin, Gas2L1) or non-centrosomal (e.g., TRF1, HEC1) Nek2A targets were implicated in this machinery. Additionally, Nek2A operated via a pathway distinct from other proteins involved in centrosome clustering mechanisms, like HSET and NuMA. Through TurboID proximity labeling analysis, we identified novel proteins associated with the centrosome or microtubules, expanding the known interaction partners of Nek2A. KIF2C, in particular, emerged as a novel interactor, confirmed through coimmunoprecipitation and localization analysis. The silencing of KIF2C diminished the impact of Nek2A on centrosome clustering and rescued cell viability. Additionally, elevated Nek2A levels were indicative of better patient outcomes, specifically in those predicted to have excess centrosomes. Therefore, while Nek2A is a proposed target, its use must be specifically adapted to the broader cellular context, especially considering centrosome amplification. Discovering partners such as KIF2C offers fresh insights into cancer biology and new possibilities for targeted treatment.

Protein Expression of NEK2, JMJD4, and REST in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (ccRCC): Clinical, Pathological, and Prognostic Findings

Background & Objective

Cells of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) are resistant to the most currently used chemotherapeutic agents and targeted therapies; hence, we evaluated the expression of NEK2, JMJD4, and REST in cases of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and benign adjacent tissues of kidney to detect associations between their expression and clinicopathological features, prognostic data, tumor recurrence, and survival rates.

Methods

We collected 200 samples including tumoral and adjacent non-neoplastic tissues related to 100 ccRCC patients. All samples were evaluated for the expression of NEK2, JMJD4, and REST, and the patients were followed up for about 5 years. Tumor recurrence and survival data were documented and analyzed.

Results

NEK2 and JMJD4 expression showed increase in ccRCC tissues (P=0.002 and 0.006), while REST was downregulated (P<0.001). The elevated expression of NEK2 was positively related ro the tumor size (P=0.015), higher grades (P=0.002), higher stages (P=0.013), distant spread (P=0.004), tumor recurrence, shorter progression-free survival (PFS) rate, and overall survival (OS) rate (P<0.001). Likewise, the high expression of JMJD4 showed positive correlation with the tumor size (P=0.047), higher grades (P=0.003), higher stages (P=0.043), distant spread (P=0.001), tumor recurrence, shorter PFS rate, and OS rate (P<0.001). Conversely, low expression of REST demonstrated positive relationship with the tumor size, higher grades, higher stages, distant spread, tumor recurrence, and shorter PFS and OS rates (P<0.001).

Conclusion

Overexpression of NEK2 and JMJD4 and downregulation of REST may be noted in malignant renal tissues compared to benign renal tissues and may be correlated with unfavorable pathological findings, poor clinical parameters, and poor patient outcomes.

NEK2 promotes esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell proliferation, migration and invasion through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

OBJECTIVES

The NEK2 (never in mitosis gene A-related kinase 2), a serine/threonine kinase involved in chromosome instability and tumorigenesis. Hence, this study aimed to explore the molecular function of NEK2 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

METHODS

By available transcriptome datasets (GSE53625 cohort, GSE38129 cohort, and GSE21293 cohort), we analyzed the differentially expressed genes in invading and non-invading ESCC. Subsequently, we evaluated the association between NEK2 expression level and clinical outcomes through Kaplan-Meier analysis method. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting (WB) analyses were performed to determine the expression levels of NEK2 mRNA and protein, respectively. We knocked down the NEK2 expression in ESCC cells (ECA109 and TE1), and evaluated the NEK2 biology function associated with ESCC cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and colony formation abilities. Finally, the downstream pathway of NEK2 was analyzed through Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and validated the regulatory mechanism of NEK2 on the potential pathway through WB.

RESULTS

We found that NEK2 was highly expressed in ESCC cells compared with human esophageal epithelial cells (HEEC) (P < 0.0001), and high NEK2 expression was remarkably associated with poor survival (P = 0.019). Knockdown of NEK2 showed the significant inhibitory effect for tumorigenesis, and suppressed the ESCC cells proliferation, migration, invasion, and formation of colonies abilities. Additionally, GSEA revealed that Wnt/β-catenin pathway was a downstream pathway of NEK2. WB results further validated the regulatory mechanism of NEK2 for Wnt/β-catenin signaling.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicated that NEK2 promotes ESCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion by activating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. NEK2 could be a promising target for ESCC.

NEK2 Serves as a Novel Biomarker and Enhances the Tumorigenicity of Clear-CellRenal-Cell Carcinoma by Activating WNT/β-Catenin Pathway

Objective. Currently, cumulative evidence has shown that loss of NEK2 function suppresses tumor growth. However, complete studies on the regulatory role of NEK2 in clear-cellrenal-cell carcinoma (ccRCC) are rarely reported. Methods. The GEPIA database was used for information mining to analyze the gene expression differences between ccRCC tumor and normal tissues. At the same time, we analyzed the protein expression of NEK2 in clinical ccRCC samples and ccRCC cell lines. We detected the effect of NEK2 on the biological behavior of ccRCC at the cell level and further verified the biological effect of NEK2 on ccRCC cells in vivo by nude mouse tumorigenesis experiment. The expression of WNT/β-cateninpathway-related proteins and downstream proteins related to cell function were detected by Western blotting. Results. Using the GEPIA database, we observed that NEK2 expression level in ccRCC tissues was significantly higher than that in normal kidney tissues and was also related to tumor grade. The survival time of patients with ccRCC with high NEK2 expression was shorter than that of patients with low NEK2 expression. Compared with adjacent carcinoma and normal renal tubular epithelial cells, NEK2 levels were highly expressed in ccRCC tissues and ccRCC cell lines. NEK2 interference restrained ccRCC cell growth, migration, and invasion. NEK2 regulated the malignant behavior of ccRCC cells through the WNT/β-catenin pathway. Nude mouse tumorigenesis assay results showed that the transplanted tumors from NEK2 silenced mice grew more slowly and were smaller in size than those from control mice. Conclusions. NEK2 elevation may be associated with poor prognosis in ccRCC, and NEK2 enhances ccRCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion ability by activating the WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Identification of IL20RB as a Novel Prognostic and Therapeutic Biomarker in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

Background

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a type of life-threatening malignant tumor of the urinary system. IL20RB, interleukin 20 receptor subunit beta, is a cytokine receptor subunit coding gene and was initially found to play a vital role in human cancers, while its role in ccRCC still remains unclear.

Methods

In this work, we explored the prognostic value and therapeutic potential of IL20RB in ccRCC mainly by online tools. Firstly, we used UALCAN and GEPIA to explore the expression profile and prognostic value of IL20RB in various cancers; the expression profile in tumor cell lines was also analysed with CCLE and Expression Atlas. Then, we decided to focus on ccRCC for further analysis; we further demonstrated the significant correlation between expression and clinical features by GEPIA and UALCAN. In order to reveal the potential intrinsic mechanism responsible for the upregulation of IL20RB in ccRCC, we made genetic alternation analysis and methylation analysis. cBioPortal was used for genetic alternation analysis. UALCAN, MethSurv, and Xena were used for methylation analysis. To learn details of how IL20RB might function in ccRCC, we further conducted functional analysis and immune infiltration analysis. STRING and GSEA were used to do functional analysis. TIMER was used for immune infiltration analysis; KM plotter was used for survival analysis.

Results

Results show that IL20RB is upregulated in ccRCC, and low methylation may be responsible for its upregulation. Both high expression and low methylation of IL20RB predict worse survival, and both have a strong positive correlation with clinical characteristics. In addition, results indicate that there exists a crosstalk between IL20RB and neutrophils. Furthermore, the immune microenvironment could influence the prognosis predicting ability of IL20RB.

Conclusions

In conclusion, IL20RB plays an important role in ccRCC and is identified as a novel prognostic and potential therapeutic biomarker in ccRCC.

One shoot, three birds: Targeting NEK2 orchestrates chemoradiotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy in cancer treatment

Combinational therapy has improved the cancer therapeutic landscape but is associated with a concomitant increase in adverse side reactions. Emerging evidence proposes that targeting one core target with multiple critical roles in tumors can achieve combined anti-tumor effects. This review focuses on NEK2, a member of serine/threonine kinases, with broad sequence identity to the mitotic regulator NIMA of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans. Elevated expression of NEK2 was initially found to promote tumorigeneses through abnormal regulation of the cell cycle. Subsequent studies report that NEK2 is overexpressed in a broad spectrum of tumor types and is associated with tumor progression and therapeutic resistance. Intriguingly, NEK2 has recently been revealed to mediate tumor immune escape by stabilizing the expression of PD-L1. Targeting NEK2 is thus becoming a promising approach for cancer treatment by orchestrating chemoradiotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. It represents a novel strategy for inducing combined anti-cancer effects using a mono-agent.