Elucidating the Role of the Maternal Embryonic Leucine Zipper Kinase in Adrenocortical Carcinoma.

ABSTRACT: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is an aggressive cancer with a 5-year survival rate <35%. Mortality remains high due to lack of targeted therapies. Using bioinformatic analyses, we identified maternal embryonic leucine zipper kinase (MELK) as 4.1-fold overexpressed in ACC compared with normal adrenal samples. High MELK expression in human tumors correlated with shorter survival and with increased expression of genes involved in cell division and growth. We investigated the functional effects of MELK inhibition using newly developed ACC cell lines with variable MELK expression, CU-ACC1 and CU-ACC2, compared with H295R cells. In vitro treatment with the MELK inhibitor, OTSSP167, resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in rates of cell proliferation, colony formation, and cell survival, with rel

SUBMITTER: Kiseljak-Vassiliades K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6669820 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature