ArticleJournal of molecular medicine (Berlin, Germany)2013
The maternal embryonic leucine zipper kinase (MELK) is upregulated in high-grade prostate cancer.
Article in Journal of molecular medicine (Berlin, Germany), 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 104 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
104 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 149 citations in OpenAlex.
- Multi-Omics Analysis of Primary Prostate Cancer Datasets Reveals Novel Biomarkers.Biochemical genetics · 2025Pooled it
- Genome-wide screen identifies a novel prognostic signature for breast cancer survival.Oncotarget · 2017Pooled it
- Pooled it
- GNL3 Orchestrates AR Transcriptional Programs to Drive Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer and Immune Evasion.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Chromatin regulatorsChinese journal of cancer research = Chung-kuo yen cheng yen chiu · 2026Article
- Maternal Embryonic Leucine Zipper Kinase (Biology · 2026Review
- The role of MELK in cancer: mechanisms and therapeutic options.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- TRIM2 suppresses prostate cancer progression by promoting ubiquitin-mediated degradation of DTNBP1.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2026Article
- Identification of a Prognostic ceRNA Network Regulating TMBIM6 in Prostate Adenocarcinoma via Integrated Bioinformatic Analysis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Analysis of Microarray and Single-Cell RNA-Seq Finds Gene Co-Expression and Tumor Environment Associated with Extracellular Matrix in Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Prostate Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Using machine learning to discover DNA metabolism biomarkers that direct prostate cancer treatment.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- MiR-485-3p/MELK cascade mediates tumor progression in pancreatic cancer.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- CTHRC1 expresses in cancer-associated fibroblasts and is associated with resistance to anti-androgen therapy in prostate cancer.Genes & genomics · 2025Article
- Multi-omics analysis constructs a novel neuroendocrine prostate cancer classifier and classification system.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Up-Regulation of MELK Promotes Cell Growth and Invasion by Accelerating G1/S Transition and Indicates Poor Prognosis in Lung Adenocarcinoma.Molecular biotechnology · 2025Article
- Targeting MELK in tumor cells and tumor microenvironment: from function and mechanism to therapeutic application.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2025Review
- Analysis of microarray and single-cell RNA-seq identifies gene co-expression, cell-cell communication, and tumor environment associated with metabolite interconversion enzyme in prostate cancer.Discover oncology · 2025Article
- DPH2 is a biomarker associated with cell death, immunity and prognosis based on pan-cancer analysis.Discover oncology · 2025Article
- Disulfidptosis-Associated CCNB2: A Prognostic Biomarker and Immune Microenvironment Modulator in Prostate Cancer.Journal of Cancer · 2025Article
- Maternal Embryonic Leucine Zipper Kinase (MELK) as a Promising Therapeutic Target in Triple Negative Breast Cancer.Anti-cancer agents in medicinal chemistry · 2025Review
44 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Loss of cell cycle control is a prerequisite for cancer onset and progression. In prostate cancer, increased activity of cell cycle genes has been associated with prognostic parameters such as biochemical relapse and survival. The identification of novel oncogenic and druggable targets in patient subgroups with poor prognosis may help to develop targeted therapy approaches. We analyzed prostate cancer and corresponding benign tissues (n = 98) using microarrays. The comparison of high- and low-grade tumors (Gleason score ≥ 4 + 3 vs. ≤ 3 + 4) revealed 144 differentially expressed genes (p < 0.05). Out of these, 15 genes were involved in the cell cycle process. The gene maternal embryonic leucine zipper kinase (MELK) was identified to be highly correlated with cell cycle genes like UBE2C, TOP2A, CCNB2, and AURKB. Increased MELK gene expression in high-risk prostate cancer was validated by qPCR in an independent patient cohort (p < 0.005, n = 79). Immunohistochemistry analysis using a tissue microarray (n = 94) revealed increased MELK protein expression in prostate cancer tissues of high Gleason scores. RNAi-based inhibition of MELK in PC3 and LNCaP cells suggested putative function in chromatin modification, embryonic development and cell migration. The concerted inhibition of MELK and other cell cycle targets by the antibiotic siomycin A strongly impaired cell viability of prostate cancer cells, and may point to a novel therapy approach for a subset of high-risk prostate cancer patients.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.