title: AURKA promotes cell migration and invasion of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma through regulation of the AURKA/Akt/FAK signaling pathway.
abstract: The present study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which Aurora kinase A (AURKA) promotes cell migration and invasion in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Transwell assays were performed to investigate the cell migration and invasion abilities of AURKA, whilst western blotting was used to analyze the protein expression in FaDu and Hep2 cells, each treated with pharmacological inhibitors. Following the inhibition of AURKA, Akt and focal adhesion kinase (FAK), the migration and invasion of the FaDu and Hep2 cells decreased. The expression of phosphorylated (p)-AURKA and p-FAK (Y397) was observed to decrease following FaDu and Hep2 cell treatment with VX-680, a small molecular inhibitor of AURKA. The expression of p-Akt and p-FAK (Y397) ceased following treatment with the Akt inhibitor triciribine. The expression of p-FAK (Y397) decreased, however, p-Akt expression did not change following treatment with the FAK inhibitor TAE226. In conclusion, AURKA activates FAK through the AURKA/Akt/FAK signaling pathway, promoting the migration and invasion of HNSCC cells, which may subsequently provide a novel approach for the treatment of HNSCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200025, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jichang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200025, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Liyun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200025, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yamin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200025, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Changping
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200025, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shili
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Ruijin Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200025, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: Akt; Aurora kinase A; FAK; head and neck squamous cell carcinoma