Overexpression of SKA Complex Is Associated With Poor Prognosis in Gliomas

Abstract

The 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 diseases, 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 patients with gliomas. 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 the STRING database. We found a significant overexpression of the mRNA levels of SKA1, SKA2, and SKA3 in patients with glioma patients. Higher expression of SKA1 and SKA3, but not SKA2, was significantly correlated with shorter overall survival of patients with glioma. 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 patients with glioma. In conclusion, our study sheds new insights into the biological role and prognostic significance of SKA complex in glioma.