AURKB: a promising biomarker in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Abstract

BackgroundAurora kinase B (AURKB) is an important carcinogenic factor in various tumors, while its role in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) still remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate its prognostic value and mechanism of action in ccRCC.MethodsGene expression profiles and clinical data of ccRCC patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. R software was utilized to analyze the expression and prognostic role ofAURKBin ccRCC. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was used to analyzeAURKBrelated signaling pathways in ccRCC.ResultsAURKBwas expressed at higher levels in ccRCC tissues than normal kidney tissues. IncreasedAURKBexpression in ccRCC correlated with high histological grade, pathological stage, T stage, N stage and distant metastasis (M stage). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis suggested that highAURKBexpression patients had a worse prognosis than patients with lowAURKBexpression levels. Multivariate Cox analysis showed thatAURKBexpression is a prognostic factor of ccRCC. GSEA indicated that genes involved in autoimmune thyroid disease, intestinal immune network for IgA production, antigen processing and presentation, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, asthma, etc., were differentially enriched in theAURKBhigh expression phenotype.ConclusionsAURKBis a promising biomarker for predicting prognosis of ccRCC patients and a potential therapeutic target. In addition,AURKBmight regulate progression of ccRCC through modulating intestinal immune network for IgA production and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, etc. signaling pathways. However, more research is necessary to validate the findings.