Bioinformatics and Experimental Validation of an AURKA/TPX2 Axis As a Potential Target in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Overview

Journal Oncol Rep

Specialty Oncology

Date 2023 Apr 21

PMID 37083097

Authors

Ruijuan Du

Kai Li

Zijun Zhou

Yunlong Huang

Kelei Guo

Hui Zhang

Zhiguo Chen

Xulin Zhao

Li Han

Hua Bian

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Aurora kinase A (AURKA), a serine/threonine kinase that regulates mitotic processes, has garnered significant interest given its association with the development of several types of cancer. In the present study, it was shown that AURKA expression was significantly upregulated in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and could serve as a diagnostic and prognostic indicator based on data obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and immunohistochemical analysis. In addition, AURKA was functionally associated with ESCC cell proliferation and colony formation and knockdown of AURKA inhibited ESCC tumor growth . Both bioinformatics analysis and pull‑down assays demonstrated that TPX2 interacted with AURKA, and their expression was correlated. AURKA cooperated with TPX2 to regulate ESCC progression via the PI3K/Akt pathway. Furthermore, AURKA or TPX2 expression levels were negatively associated with the infiltration of cytotoxic cells, CD8 T cells and mast cells, but positively associated with Th2 cells. The present study provided a relatively comprehensive understanding of the oncogenic roles of AURKA in ESCC based on data obtained from TCGA combined with experimental analysis.

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