NEK 2 is up-regulated in oral squamous cell carcinoma and correlates with patients ’ disease severity

Background: Nek2 is a centrosome kinase and an important regulator in mitosis. Nek2 overexpression has been observed in many cancers including breast cancer, colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer. However, Nek2 expression has not been examined in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Objective: Our study aims to examine the expression of Nek2 in OSCC and explore its correlation with patients’ clinical features and disease severity. Methods: Sixty tissue specimens were collected from 60 OSCC patients who underwent surgical treatment at the Stomatological hospital affiliated to Guizhou Medical University, China. Sixty normal oral tissues were collected from 60 ageand sex-matched healthy controls. Expression of Nek2 was assessed by Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction assay and Immunohistochemistry. Results: Nek2 was up-regulated in OSCC tissues at both the mRNA and protein level compared to control group (P<0.05). Expression of Nek2 in patients with lowly differentiated OSCC was higher than that of patients with highly differentiated OSCC. Expression of Nek2 was higher in patients with stage III and IV than patients with stage I and II OSCC. Higher Nek2 expression was also associated with the presence of vascular and nerve invasion, lymph node and distant metastasis. Conclusions: Expression of Nek2 in OSCC is markedly increased at both the mRNA and protein level; the increased expression of Nek2 correlates positively with clinical stages and tumor differentiation.