title: Expression of Aurora kinases A and B in normal, hyperplastic, and malignant human endometrium: Aurora B as a predictor for poor prognosis in endometrial carcinoma.
abstract: Aurora kinases such as Aurora A and Aurora B are key regulators of mitosis and have been reported to be overexpressed in various malignancies. However, the expression and localization of Aurora kinases in normal and neoplastic endometrial tissues remain undetermined. In the present study, immunohistochemical expression of Aurora A and B was examined in 40 normal, 30 hyperplastic, and 73 malignant endometria. The data were compared with the expression of Ki-67 and patient survivals. The expression of Aurora A and B at protein and messenger RNA levels was also examined using Western blotting and the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. The expression of Aurora A in normal endometrium was observed mainly in the proliferative phase and was decreased in the secretory phase. The Aurora A expression was significantly increased in carcinomas compared with normal proliferative endometrium; however, there was no correlation of Aurora A expression with Ki-67 expression or patient survival. The expression of Aurora B in normal endometrium was significantly higher in the proliferative phase than in the secretory phase. In endometrial carcinomas, the expression of Aurora B was correlated with Ki-67 expression and was significantly increased in high-grade tumors. In addition, patients with Aurora B-positive carcinoma showed poor prognosis compared with those with Aurora B-negative carcinoma (P = .0135). Accordingly, the present study indicates the aberrant expression of Aurora A and Aurora B in endometrial carcinomas and the clinical importance of Aurora B expression in relationship to patient prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto 390-8621, Japan.
authors.forename: Miyuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurai
authors.forename: Tanri
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shiozawa
authors.forename: Hsien-Chang
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Miyamoto
authors.forename: Yu-Zhen
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Hiroyasu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kashima
authors.forename: Akihisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Ikuo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Konishi
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D064107:Aurora Kinase B; D064127:Aurora Kinases; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D004714:Endometrial Hyperplasia / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D004717:Endometrium / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C576921:AURKB protein, human; D064107:Aurora Kinase B; D064127:Aurora Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases