Overexpression of NIMA-related kinase 6 (NEK6) contributes to malignant growth and dismal prognosis in Human Breast Cancer.
NIMA Related Kinase 6 (Nek6) is a protein kinase involved in various cellular processes, including cell cycle regulation, apopotosis, senescence, telomere maintainance and chemoresistance. In the present study, we investigated the role of Nek6 in breast tumorigenesis and the prognostic merit of Nek6 expression in breast cancer. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot analyses was conducted to determine the expression profile of Nek6 in 133 breast cancer specimens. Nek6 was overexpressed in a majority of breast cancer specimens, compared with the adjacent non-tumorous tissues. Furthermore, we revealed that high expression of Nek6 was associated with histologic grade, tumor size and TNM stage in breast cancer. Liner regression analysis showed a significant association between the levels of Nek6 and Ki-67. Cox regression analysis indicated that Nek6 expression was an independent prognostic predictor for breast cancer. Moreover, intracellular level of Nek6 was remarkably increased following the release from serum starvation in MCF-7 cells. EdU incorporation assay indicated that depletion of Nek6 remarkably impaired the proliferation of MCF-7 cells. Finally, spheroid formation assay revealed that interference of Nek6 led to diminished oncospheroid-forming capacity of breast cancer cells. In conclusion, our results imply that Nek6 plays a facilitating role in breast cancer cell proliferation and may serve as a promising therapeutic target for breast cancer.
['He|Zhixian|Z|', 'Ni|Xiaojian|X|', 'Xia|Liuwan|L|', 'Shao|Zhimin|Z|']
D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D000369:Aged, 80 and over D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor D001943:Breast Neoplasms D005260:Female D006801:Humans D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate D008875:Middle Aged D000072379:NIMA-Related Kinases D011379:Prognosis D016016:Proportional Hazards Models
Nek6 Prognosis Breast cancer Proliferation Spheroid