부산대학교 도서관

The Aurora kinases regulate chromosome segregation and cytokinesis, and alterations in their expression associate with cell malignant transformation. In this study, we demonstrated by qRT-PCR analysis of 14 seminomas that Aurora-A mRNA was, with respect to control tissues, augmented in five of 14 tumour tissues by 2.17 ± 0.30 fold ( P < 0.05) and reduced in 9 to 0.38 ± 0.10 ( P < 0.01). Aurora-B mRNA was increased in 11 tumour tissues by 4.33 ± 0.82 fold ( P < 0.01) and reduced in 3 to 0.41 ± 0.11 fold. Aurora-C mRNA was reduced to 0.20 ± 0.32 fold ( P < 0.01) in 13 seminomas and up-regulated in one case. Western blot experiments, performed on protein extracts of nine seminomas and six normal testes, showed an up-regulation of Aurora-B protein by 10.14 ± 3.51 fold ( P < 0.05), while Aurora-A protein was found increased in four seminomas by 2.16 ± 0.43 ( P < 0.05), unchanged in three and reduced in two tumour tissues. Aurora-C protein was increased by 9.2 ± 2.90 fold ( P < 0.05), suggesting that post-transcriptional mechanisms modulate its expression. In conclusion, we demonstrated that expression of Aurora kinases is deregulated in seminomas, suggesting that they may play a role in the progression of testicular cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]