Liposarcoma is a common subtype of
soft tissue sarcoma and accounts for 20% of all
sarcomas. Conventional chemotherapeutic agents have limited efficacy in
liposarcoma patients. Expression and activation of
serine/threonine-protein kinase dual-specificity
tyrosine-(Y)-phosphorylation regulated
kinase 1B (DYRK1B) is associated with growth and survival of many types of
cancer cells. However, the role of DYRK1B in
liposarcoma remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the functional and therapeutic relevance of DYRK1B in
liposarcoma. Tissue microarray and immunohistochemistry analysis showed that higher expression levels of DYRK1B correlated with a worse prognosis. RNA interference-mediated knockdown of DYRK1B or targeting DYRK1B with the
kinase inhibitor AZ191 inhibited
liposarcoma cell growth, decreased cell motility, and induced apoptosis. Moreover, combined AZ191 with
doxorubicin demonstrated an increased anti-
cancer effect on
liposarcoma cells. These findings suggest that DYRK1B is critical for the growth of
liposarcoma cells. Targeting DYRK1B provides a new rationale for treatment of
liposarcoma.