ArticleDiscover oncology2023
NEK2 promotes esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell proliferation, migration and invasion through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.
Article in Discover oncology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Clinical Value of hsa_circ_0000419 in Diagnosis and Prognosis of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.Biochemical genetics · 2026Article
- NEK2 promotes cancer cell progression and 5-fluorouracil resistance via the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in colorectal cancer.Discover oncology · 2025Article
- Targeting NEK Kinases in Gastrointestinal Cancers: Insights into Gene Expression, Function, and Inhibitors.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Review
- NEK2 contributes to radioresistance in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by inducing protective autophagy via regulating TRIM21.Cancer cell international · 2024Article
- Transcriptome and Weighted Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis for Feather Follicle Density in a Chinese Indigenous Breed.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Differential Expression of NEK Kinase Family Members in Esophageal Adenocarcinoma and Barrett's Esophagus.Cancers · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesThe NEK2 (never in mitosis gene A-related kinase 2), a serine/threonine kinase involved in chromosome instability and tumorigenesis. Hence, this study aimed to explore the molecular function of NEK2 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).
methodsBy available transcriptome datasets (GSE53625 cohort, GSE38129 cohort, and GSE21293 cohort), we analyzed the differentially expressed genes in invading and non-invading ESCC. Subsequently, we evaluated the association between NEK2 expression level and clinical outcomes through Kaplan-Meier analysis method. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting (WB) analyses were performed to determine the expression levels of NEK2 mRNA and protein, respectively. We knocked down the NEK2 expression in ESCC cells (ECA109 and TE1), and evaluated the NEK2 biology function associated with ESCC cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and colony formation abilities. Finally, the downstream pathway of NEK2 was analyzed through Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and validated the regulatory mechanism of NEK2 on the potential pathway through WB.
resultsWe found that NEK2 was highly expressed in ESCC cells compared with human esophageal epithelial cells (HEEC) (P < 0.0001), and high NEK2 expression was remarkably associated with poor survival (P = 0.019). Knockdown of NEK2 showed the significant inhibitory effect for tumorigenesis, and suppressed the ESCC cells proliferation, migration, invasion, and formation of colonies abilities. Additionally, GSEA revealed that Wnt/β-catenin pathway was a downstream pathway of NEK2. WB results further validated the regulatory mechanism of NEK2 for Wnt/β-catenin signaling.
conclusionsOur results indicated that NEK2 promotes ESCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion by activating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. NEK2 could be a promising target for ESCC.
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