title: Overexpression of NIMA-related kinase 2 is associated with progression and poor prognosis of prostate cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The NIMA-related kinase 2 (NEK2) is a serine/threonine kinase that is involved in regulation of centrosome duplication and spindle assembly during mitosis. Dysregulation of these processes causes chromosome instability and aneuploidy, which are hallmark changes of many solid tumors. However, whether aberrant expression of NEK2 is associated with outcome of prostate cancer (PCa) patients remains to be determined.
  
  
  METHODS
  Expression of NEK2 in human PCa cells and primary PCa tissues was assessed by quantitative RT-PCR. Expression of NEK2 in human PCa cells was depleted with siRNA. Effects of the depletion on cell proliferation, survival, and tumorigenicity were assessed both in vitro with cell cultures and in vivo with subcutaneous implantation of xenografts. In silico analyses of the online Taylor dataset were carried out to determine whether the expression level of NEK2 correlated with the clinicopathological characteristics of prostate cancer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with benign human prostatic epithelial cells and tissues, the expression of NEK2 was elevated in human PCa cells and primary PCa tissues. Depleting NEK2 expression inhibited human PCa cell proliferation in vitro and xenograft growth in vivo. Expression level of NEK2 in PCa positively correlated with the Gleason score and pathologic stage of the patient.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that overexpression of NEK2 has the potential to serve as a biomarker for PCa prognosis. Further validation with large sample pool is warrant.
authors: Guangdong Provincial Institute of Nephrology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China. 45107858@qq.com.
authors: Yan-Ru
authors: YR
authors: Zeng
authors: Department of Urology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Clinical Molecular Medicine and Diagnostics, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510180, China. hanzhaodong@21cn.com.
authors: Zhao-Dong
authors: ZD
authors: Han
authors: School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325035, China. wangcong0814@163.com.
authors: Cong
authors: C
authors: Wang
authors: Guangdong Provincial Institute of Nephrology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China. chaocai85@hotmail.com.
authors: Chao
authors: C
authors: Cai
authors: Guangdong Provincial Institute of Nephrology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China. HYQ128@126.com.
authors: Ya-Qiang
authors: YQ
authors: Huang
authors: Guangdong Provincial Institute of Nephrology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China. wei1988e@126.com.
authors: Hong-Wei
authors: HW
authors: Luo
authors: Department of Urology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Clinical Molecular Medicine and Diagnostics, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510180, China. 287684109@qq.com.
authors: Ze-Zhen
authors: ZZ
authors: Liu
authors: Guangdong Provincial Institute of Nephrology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China. 546661969@qq.com.|Department of Urology, Huadu District People's Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510800, China. 546661969@qq.com.
authors: Yang-Jia
authors: YJ
authors: Zhuo
authors: Guangdong Provincial Institute of Nephrology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China. starwar-dai@163.com.
authors: Qi-Shan
authors: QS
authors: Dai
authors: Department of Urology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510799, China. hibyzhao@126.com.
authors: Hai-Bo
authors: HB
authors: Zhao
authors: Department of Urology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Clinical Molecular Medicine and Diagnostics, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510180, China. doctorbaby@126.com.|Department of Urology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510180, China. doctorbaby@126.com.
authors: Yu-Xiang
authors: YX
authors: Liang
authors: Guangdong Provincial Institute of Nephrology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China. zhongwd2009@live.cn.|Department of Urology, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Clinical Molecular Medicine and Diagnostics, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510180, China. zhongwd2009@live.cn.|Department of Urology, Huadu District People's Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510800, China. zhongwd2009@live.cn.|Urology Key Laboratory of Guangdong Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510230, China. zhongwd2009@live.cn.|Department of Urology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510180, China. zhongwd2009@live.cn.
authors: Wei-De
authors: WD
authors: Zhong
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002470:Cell Survival; D018450:Disease Progression; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008819:Mice, Nude; D000072379:NIMA-Related Kinases; D011379:Prognosis; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C089441:NEK2 protein, human; D000072379:NIMA-Related Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases