Acylglycerol kinase promotes the proliferation and cell cycle progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Cell proliferation is a major underlying cause of mortality amongst patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC); however, the underlying mechanisms have remained to be elucidated. Acylglycerol kinase (AGK) is a multisubstrate lipid kinase, which is known to be associated with the progression of various types of human cancer. The present study aimed to investigate the role of AGK in cell proliferation and cell cycle progression in OSCC. The expression levels of AGK were detected in cancerous and adjacent normal tissue samples from four patients with OSCC undergoing surgical resection, and in OSCC cell lines, using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and western blot analysis. The effects of AGK on the proliferation and cell cycle progression of OSCC cells were assessed using a short hairpin RNA lentivirus or expressed-plasmid transfection. In addition, the expression levels of cyclin D1 and p21, as well as cell proliferation- and cell cycle-associated proteins were detected by PCR and western blotting. The results of the present study demonstrated that the expression levels of AGK were significantly higher in the cancerous tissues and OSCC cell lines, compared with the adjacent normal tissues and control cells, respectively. Furthermore, MTT and colony formation assays, in addition to flow cytometric analysis were conducted, in order to assess the role of AGK in cell proliferation and cell cycle progression. The cell proliferation and cell cycle progression of an established OSCC cell line were demonstrated to be decreased following AGK knockdown, and enhanced by AGK overexpression in vitro. Aberrant AGK expression in OSCC was shown to be associated with cell proliferation and cell cycle progression. The results of the present study provide evidence that AGK may promote cell proliferation and cell cycle progression in OSCC.