AUTHOR=Yu Shoukai 

TITLE=Overexpression of SKA Complex Is Associated With Poor Prognosis in Gliomas

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2021.755681

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2021.755681

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=The SKA (spindle and kinetochore-associated) complex is composed of three members: SKA1, SKA2, and SKA3. It is necessary for stabilizing spindle microtubules attaching to kinetochore (KT) in the middle stage of mitosis. The SKA complex is associated with poor prognosis in several human cancers. However, the role of SKA complex in rare malignant disease, such as gliomas has not been fully investigated. We investigated several databases, including Oncomine, UALCAN, and cBioPortal to explore the expression profile and prognostic significance of SKA complex in gliomas patients. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome pathways were used to analyze the potential enriched pathways. The genes co-expressed with SKA complex were identified and used for developing a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network using STRING database. We found a significant overexpression of SKA1, SKA2, and SKA3 mRNA in glioma patients. Higher expression of SKA1 and SKA3, but not SKA2, was significantly correlated with shorter overall survival of glioma patients. In glioma, SKA complex was found to be involved in nuclear division, chromosome segregation, and DNA replication. The results of PPI network identified 10 hub genes (CCNB2, UBE2C, BUB1B, TPX2, CCNA2, CCNB1, MELK, TOP2A, PBK, and KIF11), all of which were overexpressed and negatively associated with prognosis of glioma patients. In conclusion, our study sheds new insights on the biological role and prognostic significance of SKA complex in glioma.