title: The clinical significance of Aurora-A/STK15/BTAK expression in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Aurora-A/STK15/BTAK (Aurora-A) encodes a Serine/Threonine kinase associated with chromosomal distribution, and its up-regulation induces chromosomal instability thereby leading to aneuploidy and cell transformation in several types of cancer. In this study, we investigated the role of Aurora-A in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).
  
  
  METHODS
  The expression levels of Aurora-A mRNA were compared in 33 ESCC tissues with that in corresponding normal esophageal epithelium by semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR, and the distribution patterns and expression levels of Aurora-A protein were immunohistochemically investigated in the ESCC tumors of 142 patients. The results were then separately compared with the clinicopathologic findings of the patients, and the expression of Aurora-A was examined in nine ESCC cell lines and a normal esophageal epithelial cell line using Western blot analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The up-regulation of Aurora-A mRNA was found in 30% (10 of 33) of the tumors by semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR, and protein up-regulation was found in 53% (75 of 142) of the patients by immunohistochemistry. mRNA and protein up-regulation of Aurora-A were correlated with distant lymph node metastasis (P = 0.05 and P = 0.04, respectively), and patients with Aurora-A mRNA or protein up-regulation had a poorer prognosis (P = 0.003 and P = 0.0009, respectively). Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that up-regulation of the Aurora-A protein was an independent prognostic factor. In addition, Aurora-A expression in all ESCC cell lines was higher than that in a normal esophageal epithelial cell line.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The up-regulation of Aurora-A expression may reflect the malignant behavior of ESCC and may prove useful information as a prognostic factor for ESCC patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Surgical Basic Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 54 Shogoin Kawara-Cho, Sakyo-Ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Yosuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okumura
authors.forename: Takatsugu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kan
authors.forename: Go
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Imamura
authors.forename: Johji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Inazawa
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimada
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D064096:Aurora Kinase A; D064127:Aurora Kinases; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: C576917:AURKA protein, human; D064096:Aurora Kinase A; D064127:Aurora Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases