Page 155 - TD-3-4

Tumor Discovery

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Deregulation of Casein Kinase-2 in

non-small-cell lung cancer: A subunit-specific
analysis

George V. Pérez , Chen Li , Chenyi Deng , Ying Yi , Qiang Zhao ,
1,2
5
4
4
3
1,5
5
1
Zhiwei Zhang , Wen Li *, Silvio E. Perea *, and Yasser Perera *
3
1 Department of Pharmaceuticals, Biomedical Research Division, Center for Genetic Engineering
and Biotechnology, Havana, Cuba
2 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Complutense, Madrid, Spain
3 Key Laboratory of Cancer Cellular and Molecular Pathology, Cancer Research Institute of Hengyang
Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan, People’s Republic of China
4 Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan,
People’s Republic of China
5 China-Cuba Biotechnology Joint Innovation Center, Yongzhou Development and Construction
Investment Co., Ltd., Yongzhou, Hunan, People’s Republic of China
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: New Developments in Lung Cancer Research, Diagnosis,
Treatment, and Prognosis)

Abstract

*Corresponding authors: Casein kinase-2 (CK2) is a constitutively active kinase that supports neoplastic
Yasser Perera properties. Although there is an extensive body of preclinical research on CK2,
(ypereranegrin@ccbjic.com) translational and clinical information remains limited and sparse. In this study, we
Silvio E. Perea
(silvio.perea@cigb.edu.cu) interrogated clinical multiomics databases to examine CK2 deregulation across
Wen Li various cancers. Specifically, we analyzed the mutational frequency, copy-number
(liwen@ccbjic.com) alterations (CNA), and mRNA expression of CK2 catalytic (CSNK2A1 and CSNK2A2)
Citation: Pérez GV, Li C, Deng C, and regulatory (CSNK2B) subunits across two major cancer genomic repositories
et al. Deregulation of Casein (The Cancer Genome Atlas/International Cancer Genome Consortium). These
Kinase-2 in non-small-cell lung
cancer: A subunit-specific analysis. genomic and transcriptomic analyses were further focused on lung cancer and
Tumor Discov. 2024;3(4):4571. complemented by in situ assessments of CK2 protein subunits and enzymatic
doi: 10.36922/td.4571 activity in biopsies from non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Our findings indicate
Received: August 19, 2024 that gene mutations and CNA do not account for the elevated mRNA levels and
enzymatic activity of CK2 subunits in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and lung
Accepted: October 17, 2024
squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). Particularly, the upregulation of CSNK2A1
Published Online: November 29, and CSNK2B mRNA was associated with a worse prognosis and showed a direct
2024 correlation with the infiltration of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in LUAD. At
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). the protein levels, all CK2 subunits and enzymatic activity were markedly elevated
This is an Open-Access article in LUAD (n = 103) and LUSC (n = 31) biopsies; however, only CSNK2A1 expression
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution correlated positively with tumor size and disease stage. Finally, CSNK2A1 appeared
License, permitting distribution, to be more tumor-specific than CSNK2A2, suggesting that targeted therapies
and reproduction in any medium, against this catalytic subunit or its homotetramer may offer a more favorable
provided the original work is
properly cited. therapeutic window in NSCLC.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with Keywords: Casein Kinase-2; Casein kinase-2 regulation; Lung cancer; Translational study;
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Oncology target
affiliations.

Volume 3 Issue 4 (2024) 1 doi: 10.36922/td.4571