The kinesin-14 family motor protein KIFC2 promotes prostate cancer progression by regulating p65

The Kinesin-14 motor proteins play important roles in tumor development and drug resistance and have been reported as potential biomarkers or therapeutic targets for tumor treatment. However, KIFC2, one of the Kinesin-14 motor family members, remains largely unknown in prostate Cancer (PCa) progression. Here, we used the GEO and TCGA datasets, western blotting, and IHC analyses were used to detect KIFC2 expression in PCa tissues. Additionally, a series of in vivo and in vitro experiments were utilized to demonstrate the roles of KIFC2 in PCa cells. We found that KIFC2 was highly expressed and positively correlated with the clinicopathological characteristics in PCa. Functional experiments indicated that KIFC2 could promote PCa progression. Furthermore, we performed an analysis of the KEGG and GSEA databases, subcellular fractionation, and immunofluorescence to investigate the potential mechanisms of KIFC2 in PCa. We confirmed that KIFC2 could regulate the NF-κB pathway via mediating NF-κB p65 protein expression and nuclear translocation thereby promoting PCa progression and chemotherapeutic resistance. Together, our results suggest that KIFC2 is overexpressed in PCa. By regulating the NF-κB pathway, KIFC2 may play a crucial role in PCa.

Chemotherapeutic resistance; KIFC2; NF-κB pathway; Prostate cancer; Tumor progression.