Role of KIF2A in the progression and metastasis of human glioma.

KIF2A is a member of the kinesin-13 family and is involved in cell mitosis and spindle assembly. The abnormal expression and dysfunction of KIF2A are associated with tumorigenesis and the progression of certain human cancer types; however, little is known about the expression and roles of KIF2A in glioma. In the present study, the expression of KIF2A in 35 freshly isolated human glioma tissue samples was analyzed using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The association between the expression of KIF2A and clinicopathological parameters were assessed using the χ(2) test. The biological functions of KIF2A on the proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion of glioma cells were investigated using an A172 cell line. RT-qPCR and IHC results demonstrated that the mRNA and protein expression levels of KIF2A were significantly higher in grade III-IV glioma tissues compared with those in grade I-II glioma tissues (P<0.05). No significant correlation was observed between the expression of KIF2A, and age, gender, tumor location and size (P>0.05). In vitro, KIF2A gene silencing inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion, and induced apoptosis in cancer cells. The present data suggested that KIF2A may be important in glioma progression and may serve as a novel predictive factor and therapeutic target for glioma.