Aurora kinase A (
AURKA) regulates the cell cycle checkpoint and maintains genomic integrity.
AURKA is overexpressed in various malignant
tumors and its upregulation induces
chromosomal instability, which leads to
aneuploidy and cell transformation. To investigate the role of
AURKA in
endometrial cancer, we evaluated the association of immunohistochemical expression of
AURKA with clinicopathological factors. Furthermore, we examined the effects of
AURKA inhibition by transfected
siRNA in HEC-1B cells on colony-forming ability, invasion and migration capacity, and chemosensitivity. Immunohistochemical staining showed that overexpression of
AURKA was significantly associated with
tumor grade (P<0.05) and poor histologic differentiation (P<0.05). The recurrence rate also tended to be high in cases with overexpression of
AURKA (P<0.1) and these cases also had a tendency for shorter disease-free survival (DFS) (P<0.1).
AURKA inhibition in
endometrial cancer cell lines significantly decreased cell growth, invasion and migration (P<0.05), and increased chemosensitivity to
paclitaxel. We also evaluated the efficacy of a combination of
AURKA siRNA and
paclitaxel against subcutaneous
tumors formed in a nude mouse.
After treatment, the
tumor volume shrank significantly compared to treatment with
paclitaxel only (P<0.05). To our knowledge, this is the first study in
endometrial carcinoma to show a correlation between overexpression of
AURKA and
tumor grade, histological type and sensitivity to
paclitaxel.
AURKA is a promising therapeutic target in
endometrial cancer and the combination
therapy with
AURKA inhibitors and
paclitaxel could be effective for
endometrial cancer that is resistant to conventional treatment and has a poor prognosis.