# Kinesin Family Member 18A (KIF18A) Contributes to the Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion of Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells In Vitro and In Vivo

Authors: Fu-Tao Chen; Fu-Kuan Zhong
Journal: Disease Markers
 (2019)

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## Abstract

Objective. To determine the expression levels of KIF18A in lung adenocarcinoma and its relationship with the clinicopathologic features of patients undergoing radical colectomy and explore the potential role in the progression of lung adenocarcinoma. Methods. Immunohistochemical assays were performed to explore the expression levels of KIF18A in 82 samples of lung adenocarcinoma and corresponding normal tissues. According to the levels of KIF18A expression in lung adenocarcinoma tissue samples, patients were classified into the KIF18A high expression group and low expression group. Clinical data related to the perioperative clinical features (age, gender, smoking, tumor size, differentiation, clinical stage, and lymph node metastasis), the potential correlation between KIF18A expression levels, and clinical features were analyzed, and the effects of KIF18A on lung adenocarcinoma cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were measured by colony formation assay, MTT assay, wound healing assay, and transwell assays. The possible effects of KIF18A on tumor growth and metastasis were measured in mice through tumor growth and tumor metastasis assays in vivo. Results. KIF18A in lung adenocarcinoma tissues. Further, KIF18A was significantly associated to clinical characteristic features including the tumor size (P=0.033) and clinical stage (P=0.041) of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Our data also investigated that KIF18A depletion dramatically impairs the proliferation, migration, and invasion capacity of lung adenocarcinoma cells in vitro and inhibits tumor growth and metastasis in mice. Conclusions. Our study reveals the involvement of KIF18A in the progression and metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma and provides a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma.


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## Body

## 1. Introduction

Lung cancer is one of the common tumors worldwide, with approximately 10 million people worldwide who died because of it in 2018 [1, 2]. Lung cancer is histologically classified into squamous cell carcinoma, small undifferentiated carcinoma, large undifferentiated carcinoma, and adenocarcinoma [3]. Lung adenocarcinoma is thought as the primary histological type of lung cancer and comprises most of lung cancer [4]. In recent years, it was widely reported that lung adenocarcinoma had both low early diagnosis rates and high death rates, which was mainly caused by the lack of early symptoms and difficult to be effectively treated in the advanced stage [5, 6]. Existing treatment methods for lung adenocarcinoma, such as surgical treatment, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, could hardly meet the survival expectation of patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma [7]. Recently, targeted therapy exhibits a promising prospect in the treatment of this disease [8, 9]. To reduce mortality and improve prognosis, novel and promising therapeutic targets are also badly needed.Kinesin family containing 45 members, which are involved in the transport of proteins and organelles based on microtubule, was first discovered in the brains of mammals [10]. Previous studies confirmed that kinesins were involved in cell division, ciliogenesis, and neural signaling transducing [11, 12]. Kinesin family member 18A (KIF18A) is one of the 45 kinesins and a member of the kinesin-8 family together with KIF18B [13]. A study has indicated that KIF18A possessed core functions related to cell development in multiple species [14]. Additionally, KIF18A could regulate kinetochore-microtubule attachment and further affect chromosome positioning during cell division, and the defects of KIF18A resulted in chromosome instability [15, 16].Interestingly, the promising role of KIF18A in the progression of multiple cancers has been widely revealed. Several studies indicated that KIF18A has high expression and is associated with the prognosis of patients with breast cancer, clear cell renal carcinoma, and colorectal cancer [14, 17, 18]. KIF18A was also involved in the invasion and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma [19]. KIF18A is correlated with cell proliferation, tumor staging, and the prognosis of multiple tumors [20, 21]. However, the possible role of KIF18A in lung cancer is still unclear.Herein, we revealed the high expression of KIF18A in human lung adenocarcinoma tissues and explored the possible link between KIF18A expression level and clinical features of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. We also found that KIF18A depletion dramatically suppressed the cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells and inhibited tumor growth and metastasis in mice. Therefore, KIF18A could serve as a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma.


## 2. Materials and Methods (We Mainly Referred to the Research Methods of Li et al. [22])

### 2.1. Antibodies, Primers, and shRNA Plasmids

Anti-KIF18A antibody (for immunohistochemistry: 1 : 200 dilution, for immunoblot: 1 : 500 dilution; #19245, Proteintech, Chicago, USA) and anti-β-actin (1 : 2000 dilution; #ab8226, Abcam, Cambridge, UK) were used.The quantitative PCR primer sequences of KIF18A were as follows: forward: 5′-AAAAAGTGGTAGTTTGGGCTGA-3′ and reverse: 5′-CTTTCAAGGGAGATGGCATTAG-3′. The quantitative PCR primer sequences of GAPDH were as follows: forward: 5′-GAGTCAACGGATTTGGTCGT-3′ and reverse: 5′-TTGATTTTGGAGGGATCTCG-3′.Ready-to-package AAV shRNA clone for KIF18A was purchased from Addgene; the targeted sequence was as follows: 5′-AAAGCACTGGATTTCATAAAGT-3′.


### 2.2. Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of human specimens and animals were followed. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. The animal study was carried out in accordance with the guidelines approved by the Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee of The Second People’s Hospital of Lianyungang. The protocol was approved by the Committee, all surgery was performed under sodium pentobarbital anesthesia, and all efforts were made to minimize suffering.


### 2.3. Human Tissue Samples and IHC Assays

Human lung adenocarcinoma (LA) tissues and adjacent tissues were collected from the patients receiving surgical resection in The Second People’s Hospital of Lianyungang from April 2014 to May 2018.The clinical pathologic features, including patient age, gender, clinical pTNM stage, tumor size, and grade, are precisely recorded and listed in Table1.Table 1
Relationships of KIF18A and clinicopathological characteristics in 82 patients with lung adenocarcinoma.
Feature
Alln=102
KIF18A expression
χ2
P
Low
High
n=42
n=60
Age (year)
0.879
0.348
<55
60
27
33
≥55
42
15
27
Gender
0.442
0.506
Male
55
21
34
Female
47
21
26
Smoking
1.366
0.242
Yes
72
27
45
No
30
15
15
Tumor size
4.554
0.033∗
<4 cm
34
19
15
≥4 cm
68
23
45
Differentiation
1.639
0.200
Low
34
17
17
High
68
25
43
Clinical stage
4.184
0.041∗
I-II
46
24
22
III-IV
56
18
38
Lymph node metastasis
0.812
0.368
Yes
48
22
26
No
54
20
34Subsequently, immunohistochemical (IHC) assays were performed to assess the potential correlations between KIF18A expression and LA progression, and we mainly referred to the research methods of Li et al. [22]. Briefly, sections were fixed with 4% PFA at room temperature for 30 minutes and blocked with 2% BSA in PBS for 20 minutes. Slides were incubated with anti-KIF18A antibodies at room temperature for 2 hours. Then the sections were incubated with biotinylated secondary antibody for 1.5 hours at room temperature, and diaminobenzidine was used as a chromogen substrate, and according to our results, KIF18A was mainly expressed in the cytoplasm of lung adenocarcinoma cells.We used a score method to evaluate the expression level of KIF18A. The proportion of positively stained cells was scored as follows: <10% positive tumor cells score 0, 10%-50% positive staining tumor cells score 1, and >50% positive tumor cells score 2. The staining intensity was classified as follows: 0 means negative staining, 1 means intermediate staining, and 2 means high staining. The staining intensity score was the staining intensity score plus the percentage score. After all, we defined the following KIF18A expression levels as follows: 0-2 was low expression and 3-4 was high expression.


### 2.4. Cell Culture and Transfection

Both A549 and H1975 human lung adenocarcinoma cells were bought from the Committee of Type Culture Collection of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Shanghai, China). A549 and H1975 cells were all maintained in RPMI-1640 culture medium (Gibco, Grand Island, USA) and supplemented with 10% of fetal bovine serum (FBS, Gibco, Grand Island, USA). Cells were cultured at 37°C in a 5% CO2 incubator. Cells were classified according to the transfection of overexpression resistin plasmid for the resistin group and untransfected cells for the control group. KIF18A stable depleted cells were screened by the infection of its shRNA lentivirus and used for tumor growth and metastasis assays.


### 2.5. Quantitative PCR Assay

We use TRIzol reagent (#15596026, Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA) to extract total RNA from LA cells. Then the total RNA was reverse-transcribed by M-MLV reverse transcriptase (M1701, Promega, Madison, Wisconsin, USA).Then RNA was reverse-transcribed to produce cDNA by cDNA synthesis KIT. Quantitative PCR was performed using SYBR Ex Taq kit (#638319, Takara, Japan), and the expression levels of KIF18A were normalized to the expression of GAPDH.


### 2.6. Immunoblot Assays

Both cells and tissues were lysed in cell lysis buffer to extract total proteins. Then the samples were analyzed by SDS-PAGE. After the transmembrane, the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes were blocked with 5% milk-TBST buffer and then incubated for 2 hours with the primary antibodies for the detection of KIF18A andβ-actin. Then the PVDF membranes were incubated with HRP-conjugate secondary antibodies for 1 hour. After being washed with TBST for 4 times, the blots were visualized with an ECL kit. ImageJ software was used to calculate the intensity of each blot.


### 2.7. Colony Formation Assays

Approximately 500 human lung adenocarcinoma cells were added into a 6-well culture plate and transfected with control or KIF18A shRNA plasmids. After 48 hours, cells were incubated at 37°C and replaced with fresh medium every 3 days. After 2 weeks, cells were fixed with at -20°C methanol and stained with 0.1% crystal violet at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then washed with PBS twice. Then the total number of colonies was then manually counted.


### 2.8. MTT Assays

Cells were plated into 96-well plates with a density of about 1000 cells each well, transfected with control or KIF18A shRNA plasmids, and incubated for 24 hours. Then cells were incubated with MTT for 4 hours, removed from the medium, and washed with PBS. Then 200μL dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was added into each well to dissolve cells, and the OD value was measured at 570 nm wave length.


### 2.9. Wound Healing Assays

Both A549 and H1975 cells were transfected with control or KIF18A shRNA plasmids and grown as confluent monolayers. A sterile pipette tip was used to introduce a scratch in the middle of each well. Next, the growth medium was discarded and replaced with fresh medium. Wound was photographed at 0 hour and 24 hours, and the extent percentage of wound healing was measured and calculated.


### 2.10. Transwell Assays

The transwell experiment referred to the method of Li et al. [22]. Briefly, A549 and H1975 cells were transfected with control or KIF18A shRNA plasmids for 48 hours, then trypsinized, in serum-free medium. The upper chambers of transwell were subsequently coated with 20% Matrigel and incubated at 37°C for 30 minutes. A total of 105 cells were then added to the upper chambers of the inserts and were allowed to migrate toward the bottom chambers, which contained complete medium. After 24 hours, the remaining cells in the top chamber were removed, and cells on the underside were fixed in 4% PFA and stained with 0.1% crystal violet for 30 minutes. The quantification of migrated cells was counted.


### 2.11. Tumor Growth Assays

All animal assay processes were approved by our Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). A549 cells were stably transfected with control or KIF18 shRNA lentivirus. Approximately 106 control or KIF18 stably knockdown cells were subcutaneously implanted into athymic nude mice. After 2 weeks, tumors were isolated and photographed, and the volume was measured every 3 days. After 29 days, all tumors were isolated.


### 2.12. Tumor Metastasis Assays

A549 cells were stably transfected with control or KIF18A shRNA lentivirus. About 5 × 105 cells were implanted into the tail vein of athymic nude mice. After 8 weeks, the tumor was isolated, weighted, and compared.


### 2.13. Statistics

GraphPad Prism 5.0 software (GraphPad, USA) was used in this study for statistical analysis. All data in this study were represented as themean±SD, and the link between clinical data and KIF18A expression was calculated through χ2 analysis. Student’s t-test was used for statistical comparisons, and P<0.05 is considered significant.


## 2.1. Antibodies, Primers, and shRNA Plasmids

Anti-KIF18A antibody (for immunohistochemistry: 1 : 200 dilution, for immunoblot: 1 : 500 dilution; #19245, Proteintech, Chicago, USA) and anti-β-actin (1 : 2000 dilution; #ab8226, Abcam, Cambridge, UK) were used.The quantitative PCR primer sequences of KIF18A were as follows: forward: 5′-AAAAAGTGGTAGTTTGGGCTGA-3′ and reverse: 5′-CTTTCAAGGGAGATGGCATTAG-3′. The quantitative PCR primer sequences of GAPDH were as follows: forward: 5′-GAGTCAACGGATTTGGTCGT-3′ and reverse: 5′-TTGATTTTGGAGGGATCTCG-3′.Ready-to-package AAV shRNA clone for KIF18A was purchased from Addgene; the targeted sequence was as follows: 5′-AAAGCACTGGATTTCATAAAGT-3′.


## 2.2. Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of human specimens and animals were followed. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. The animal study was carried out in accordance with the guidelines approved by the Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee of The Second People’s Hospital of Lianyungang. The protocol was approved by the Committee, all surgery was performed under sodium pentobarbital anesthesia, and all efforts were made to minimize suffering.


## 2.3. Human Tissue Samples and IHC Assays

Human lung adenocarcinoma (LA) tissues and adjacent tissues were collected from the patients receiving surgical resection in The Second People’s Hospital of Lianyungang from April 2014 to May 2018.The clinical pathologic features, including patient age, gender, clinical pTNM stage, tumor size, and grade, are precisely recorded and listed in Table1.Table 1
Relationships of KIF18A and clinicopathological characteristics in 82 patients with lung adenocarcinoma.
Feature
Alln=102
KIF18A expression
χ2
P
Low
High
n=42
n=60
Age (year)
0.879
0.348
<55
60
27
33
≥55
42
15
27
Gender
0.442
0.506
Male
55
21
34
Female
47
21
26
Smoking
1.366
0.242
Yes
72
27
45
No
30
15
15
Tumor size
4.554
0.033∗
<4 cm
34
19
15
≥4 cm
68
23
45
Differentiation
1.639
0.200
Low
34
17
17
High
68
25
43
Clinical stage
4.184
0.041∗
I-II
46
24
22
III-IV
56
18
38
Lymph node metastasis
0.812
0.368
Yes
48
22
26
No
54
20
34Subsequently, immunohistochemical (IHC) assays were performed to assess the potential correlations between KIF18A expression and LA progression, and we mainly referred to the research methods of Li et al. [22]. Briefly, sections were fixed with 4% PFA at room temperature for 30 minutes and blocked with 2% BSA in PBS for 20 minutes. Slides were incubated with anti-KIF18A antibodies at room temperature for 2 hours. Then the sections were incubated with biotinylated secondary antibody for 1.5 hours at room temperature, and diaminobenzidine was used as a chromogen substrate, and according to our results, KIF18A was mainly expressed in the cytoplasm of lung adenocarcinoma cells.We used a score method to evaluate the expression level of KIF18A. The proportion of positively stained cells was scored as follows: <10% positive tumor cells score 0, 10%-50% positive staining tumor cells score 1, and >50% positive tumor cells score 2. The staining intensity was classified as follows: 0 means negative staining, 1 means intermediate staining, and 2 means high staining. The staining intensity score was the staining intensity score plus the percentage score. After all, we defined the following KIF18A expression levels as follows: 0-2 was low expression and 3-4 was high expression.


## 2.4. Cell Culture and Transfection

Both A549 and H1975 human lung adenocarcinoma cells were bought from the Committee of Type Culture Collection of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Shanghai, China). A549 and H1975 cells were all maintained in RPMI-1640 culture medium (Gibco, Grand Island, USA) and supplemented with 10% of fetal bovine serum (FBS, Gibco, Grand Island, USA). Cells were cultured at 37°C in a 5% CO2 incubator. Cells were classified according to the transfection of overexpression resistin plasmid for the resistin group and untransfected cells for the control group. KIF18A stable depleted cells were screened by the infection of its shRNA lentivirus and used for tumor growth and metastasis assays.


## 2.5. Quantitative PCR Assay

We use TRIzol reagent (#15596026, Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA) to extract total RNA from LA cells. Then the total RNA was reverse-transcribed by M-MLV reverse transcriptase (M1701, Promega, Madison, Wisconsin, USA).Then RNA was reverse-transcribed to produce cDNA by cDNA synthesis KIT. Quantitative PCR was performed using SYBR Ex Taq kit (#638319, Takara, Japan), and the expression levels of KIF18A were normalized to the expression of GAPDH.


## 2.6. Immunoblot Assays

Both cells and tissues were lysed in cell lysis buffer to extract total proteins. Then the samples were analyzed by SDS-PAGE. After the transmembrane, the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes were blocked with 5% milk-TBST buffer and then incubated for 2 hours with the primary antibodies for the detection of KIF18A andβ-actin. Then the PVDF membranes were incubated with HRP-conjugate secondary antibodies for 1 hour. After being washed with TBST for 4 times, the blots were visualized with an ECL kit. ImageJ software was used to calculate the intensity of each blot.


## 2.7. Colony Formation Assays

Approximately 500 human lung adenocarcinoma cells were added into a 6-well culture plate and transfected with control or KIF18A shRNA plasmids. After 48 hours, cells were incubated at 37°C and replaced with fresh medium every 3 days. After 2 weeks, cells were fixed with at -20°C methanol and stained with 0.1% crystal violet at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then washed with PBS twice. Then the total number of colonies was then manually counted.


## 2.8. MTT Assays

Cells were plated into 96-well plates with a density of about 1000 cells each well, transfected with control or KIF18A shRNA plasmids, and incubated for 24 hours. Then cells were incubated with MTT for 4 hours, removed from the medium, and washed with PBS. Then 200μL dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was added into each well to dissolve cells, and the OD value was measured at 570 nm wave length.


## 2.9. Wound Healing Assays

Both A549 and H1975 cells were transfected with control or KIF18A shRNA plasmids and grown as confluent monolayers. A sterile pipette tip was used to introduce a scratch in the middle of each well. Next, the growth medium was discarded and replaced with fresh medium. Wound was photographed at 0 hour and 24 hours, and the extent percentage of wound healing was measured and calculated.


## 2.10. Transwell Assays

The transwell experiment referred to the method of Li et al. [22]. Briefly, A549 and H1975 cells were transfected with control or KIF18A shRNA plasmids for 48 hours, then trypsinized, in serum-free medium. The upper chambers of transwell were subsequently coated with 20% Matrigel and incubated at 37°C for 30 minutes. A total of 105 cells were then added to the upper chambers of the inserts and were allowed to migrate toward the bottom chambers, which contained complete medium. After 24 hours, the remaining cells in the top chamber were removed, and cells on the underside were fixed in 4% PFA and stained with 0.1% crystal violet for 30 minutes. The quantification of migrated cells was counted.


## 2.11. Tumor Growth Assays

All animal assay processes were approved by our Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). A549 cells were stably transfected with control or KIF18 shRNA lentivirus. Approximately 106 control or KIF18 stably knockdown cells were subcutaneously implanted into athymic nude mice. After 2 weeks, tumors were isolated and photographed, and the volume was measured every 3 days. After 29 days, all tumors were isolated.


## 2.12. Tumor Metastasis Assays

A549 cells were stably transfected with control or KIF18A shRNA lentivirus. About 5 × 105 cells were implanted into the tail vein of athymic nude mice. After 8 weeks, the tumor was isolated, weighted, and compared.


## 2.13. Statistics

GraphPad Prism 5.0 software (GraphPad, USA) was used in this study for statistical analysis. All data in this study were represented as themean±SD, and the link between clinical data and KIF18A expression was calculated through χ2 analysis. Student’s t-test was used for statistical comparisons, and P<0.05 is considered significant.


## 3. Results

### 3.1. KIF18A Is Highly Expressed in Lung Adenocarcinoma Tissues and Associated with the Clinical Features of Patients with Lung Adenocarcinoma

The involvement of KIF18A in the progression and development of various types of cancers has been widely reported. To investigate the potential effects of KIF18A in lung adenocarcinoma development, bioinformatics analysis was performed in an interactive web server GEPIA with the sequencing expression data of 483 tumors. The mRNA expression level of KIF18A in lung adenocarcinoma showed significantly higher than normal tissues (P<0.05, number=483, normal tissues, number=347, Figure 1(a) above). And we also found that the disease-free survival time was shorter in the high expression of KIF18A than in the low expression of KIF18A (P=0.0059, P<0.05; Figure 1(a) below). Then we detected the expression levels of KIF18A in lung adenocarcinoma tissues from patients who underwent surgical resection through IHC assays. Notably, the results revealed that KIF18A was mainly located in the cytoplasm of lung adenocarcinoma cells (Figure 1(b)). We further explored the difference of KIF18A expression levels in between lung adenocarcinoma tissues and adjacent nontumor tissues through IHC assays. As we expected, adjacent nontumor tissues exhibited significantly low expression levels of KIF18A compared with lung adenocarcinoma tissues (Figures 1(b) and 1(c)).Figure 1
KIF18A has high expression in human lung adenocarcinoma tissues. (a) Shown above is the mRNA expression level of KIF18A in cancer and normal tissues in the GEPIA (LUAD: lung adenocarcinoma). Shown below is the disease survival time of low and high mRNA expression of KIF18A in the 483 cases of lung adenocarcinoma in the GEPIA. (b) Immunohistochemical assays were performed, and the representative photographs of KIF18A expression levels in human lung adenocarcinoma tissues were exhibited (×100 and ×200 magnifications, respectively). (c) IHC staining results revealed the expression levels of KIF18A in the adjacent nontumor tissues (×100 and ×200 magnifications, respectively).
(a)
(b)
(c)According to the results, 102 tissue samples from lung adenocarcinoma patients who underwent surgical resection were divided into the KIF18A low expression and KIF18A high expression groups, based on the staining intensity (Figure1(b) and Table 1). According to the staining results, 42 patients exhibited low expression of KIF18A, whereas 60 showed high expression of KIF18A (Table 1).We further evaluated the clinical features of KIF18A in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Patient age, gender, tumor size, and clinical stage were recorded and analyzed, respectively. According to the results, no obvious difference was found in clinical characteristics such as patient age and gender between the KIF18A low expression and KIF18A high expression groups (Table1). Notably, our data revealed that KIF18A expression was inversely associated with tumor size (P=0.033) and clinical stage (P=0.041) in lung adenocarcinoma patients (Table 1). In conclusion, these results suggested the possible involvement of KIF18A in the progression of lung adenocarcinoma.


### 3.2. Ablation of KIF18A Blocks Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion of Lung Adenocarcinoma In Vitro

To explore the possible regulatory mechanism underlying KIF18A affecting the progression of lung adenocarcinoma, the shRNA plasmids specifically targeting KIF18A were transfected into 2 types of human lung adenocarcinoma cells, A549 and H1975 cells, to block its expression. According to the results of quantitative PCR assays (Figure2(a)), the transfection of KIF18A shRNA plasmids effectively inhibited its expression in both A549 and H1975 cells. Consistent with the results of quantitative assays, the immunoblot assays confirmed the obviously decreased expression levels of KIF18A in these 2 types of lung adenocarcinoma cells transfected with KIF18A shRNA plasmids (Figure 2(b)).Figure 2
KIF18A expression was effectively blocked in both A549 and H1975 human lung adenocarcinoma cells caused by its shRNA plasmids. (a) Quantitative PCR assays revealed the dramatically reduced expression levels of KIF18A caused by its shRNA in both A549 and H1975 cells, respectively. (b) Immunoblot assays confirmed the efficient silencing of KIF18A caused by its shRNA plasmids in A549 and H1975 cells. Results are presented as themean±SD; ∗P<0.05.
(a)
(b)Next, we detected the effects of KIF18A on the proliferation of A549 and H1975 cells. Both colony formation assays and MTT assays were performed to evaluate cell proliferation capacity of lung adenocarcinoma. Data of colony formation assays exhibited that KIF18A depletion obviously reduced colony number (Figure3(a)). Similarly, an obvious decrease absorbance value at 570 nm was detected in these 2 types of lung adenocarcinoma cells through MTT assays (Figure 3(b)). All these results confirmed the impaired proliferation capacity caused by KIF18A depletion.Figure 3
KIF18A promotes the proliferation, migration and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells in vitro. (a) A549 and H1975 cells transfected with control or KIF18A shRNA, and the proliferation capacity was quantified by colony number through colony formation assays. (b) The OD value generated by MTT assays showed the inhibition of cell proliferation caused by KIF18A ablation. (c) KIF18A depletion resulted in the lower migration degree in A549 and H1975 cells. Photographs showed that at 0- and 24-hour time points, migrated cells were present. (d) Transwell assays using both A549 and H1975 human lung adenocarcinoma cells transfected with control or KIF18A shRNA plasmids, and the degree of invasion was quantified by the invasion cell number. Results are presented as themean±SD; ∗P<0.05.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)We then performed wound healing and transwell assays to evaluate the effects of KIF18A on the migration and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells. Interestingly, our results exhibited that KIF18A depletion dramatically suppressed the extent of wound healing in both A549 and H1975 cells (Figure3(c)). Additionally, KIF18A depletion significantly blocked the invasion of these 2 types of lung cancer cells through membranes, with dramatically dropped cell number (Figure 3(d)), confirmed by transwell assays.Collectively, our results indicated that KIF18A contributes to cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma in vitro.


### 3.3. KIF18A Induces the Growth and Metastasis of Lung Adenocarcinoma in Mice

Based on the previous results, KIF18A depletion resulted in the inhibition of the proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells; we further evaluated the possible effects of KIF18A in the growth and metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma in mice.Tumor growth assays were firstly performed in mice to explore the possible effects of KIF18A on the growth of lung adenocarcinoma in mice. A549 cells were infected with control or KIF18A shRNA lentivirus and subcutaneously injected into nude mice. After 2 weeks, tumors were isolated from mice and photographed, and the volume of tumors was measured every week. Representative photographs were shown (Figure4(a)). The growth curve is calculated and exhibited in Figure 4(a). According to the results, the volume of tumors isolated from KIF18A knockdown groups was significantly smaller than that in control groups (Figure 4(a)).Figure 4
KIF18A contributes to lung adenocarcinoma growth and metastasis in mice. (a) A549 cells infected with control or KIF18A shRNA lentivirus were subcutaneously implanted into nude mice. After 2 weeks, tumors were isolated, and volume was examined every 3 days. (n=6 in each group). Tumor growth curve was calculated and analyzed according to the average volume of 6 tumors in each group. (b) Lung metastasis assays were performed, and the representative photographs of the lung in control or KIF18A shRNA lentivirus-infected groups were shown. (c) IHC assays indicated the expression levels of KIF18A in control or KIF18A depletion tumor tissues isolated from mice. Results are presented as the mean ± SD; ∗P<0.05.
(a)
(b)
(c)We further performed lung metastasis assay in mice. A549 cells were infected with KIF18A shRNA lentivirus to stably knockdown its expression. Subsequently, control or KIF18A stably depletion A549 cells injected into the caudal vein of nude mice. After 7 weeks, we found that the incidence of lung metastasis for A549 cells was obviously decreased compared with control (Figure4(b)).To confirm the silencing efficiency of KIF18A shRNA lentivirus in mice, we detected KIF18A expression levels in tumor tissues through IHC assays. As we expected, the expression levels of KIF18A in the depletion groups were obviously reduced compared with the control groups (Figure4(c)).In conclusion, these results confirmed that KIF18A induces the growth and metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma in mice.


## 3.1. KIF18A Is Highly Expressed in Lung Adenocarcinoma Tissues and Associated with the Clinical Features of Patients with Lung Adenocarcinoma

The involvement of KIF18A in the progression and development of various types of cancers has been widely reported. To investigate the potential effects of KIF18A in lung adenocarcinoma development, bioinformatics analysis was performed in an interactive web server GEPIA with the sequencing expression data of 483 tumors. The mRNA expression level of KIF18A in lung adenocarcinoma showed significantly higher than normal tissues (P<0.05, number=483, normal tissues, number=347, Figure 1(a) above). And we also found that the disease-free survival time was shorter in the high expression of KIF18A than in the low expression of KIF18A (P=0.0059, P<0.05; Figure 1(a) below). Then we detected the expression levels of KIF18A in lung adenocarcinoma tissues from patients who underwent surgical resection through IHC assays. Notably, the results revealed that KIF18A was mainly located in the cytoplasm of lung adenocarcinoma cells (Figure 1(b)). We further explored the difference of KIF18A expression levels in between lung adenocarcinoma tissues and adjacent nontumor tissues through IHC assays. As we expected, adjacent nontumor tissues exhibited significantly low expression levels of KIF18A compared with lung adenocarcinoma tissues (Figures 1(b) and 1(c)).Figure 1
KIF18A has high expression in human lung adenocarcinoma tissues. (a) Shown above is the mRNA expression level of KIF18A in cancer and normal tissues in the GEPIA (LUAD: lung adenocarcinoma). Shown below is the disease survival time of low and high mRNA expression of KIF18A in the 483 cases of lung adenocarcinoma in the GEPIA. (b) Immunohistochemical assays were performed, and the representative photographs of KIF18A expression levels in human lung adenocarcinoma tissues were exhibited (×100 and ×200 magnifications, respectively). (c) IHC staining results revealed the expression levels of KIF18A in the adjacent nontumor tissues (×100 and ×200 magnifications, respectively).
(a)
(b)
(c)According to the results, 102 tissue samples from lung adenocarcinoma patients who underwent surgical resection were divided into the KIF18A low expression and KIF18A high expression groups, based on the staining intensity (Figure1(b) and Table 1). According to the staining results, 42 patients exhibited low expression of KIF18A, whereas 60 showed high expression of KIF18A (Table 1).We further evaluated the clinical features of KIF18A in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Patient age, gender, tumor size, and clinical stage were recorded and analyzed, respectively. According to the results, no obvious difference was found in clinical characteristics such as patient age and gender between the KIF18A low expression and KIF18A high expression groups (Table1). Notably, our data revealed that KIF18A expression was inversely associated with tumor size (P=0.033) and clinical stage (P=0.041) in lung adenocarcinoma patients (Table 1). In conclusion, these results suggested the possible involvement of KIF18A in the progression of lung adenocarcinoma.


## 3.2. Ablation of KIF18A Blocks Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion of Lung Adenocarcinoma In Vitro

To explore the possible regulatory mechanism underlying KIF18A affecting the progression of lung adenocarcinoma, the shRNA plasmids specifically targeting KIF18A were transfected into 2 types of human lung adenocarcinoma cells, A549 and H1975 cells, to block its expression. According to the results of quantitative PCR assays (Figure2(a)), the transfection of KIF18A shRNA plasmids effectively inhibited its expression in both A549 and H1975 cells. Consistent with the results of quantitative assays, the immunoblot assays confirmed the obviously decreased expression levels of KIF18A in these 2 types of lung adenocarcinoma cells transfected with KIF18A shRNA plasmids (Figure 2(b)).Figure 2
KIF18A expression was effectively blocked in both A549 and H1975 human lung adenocarcinoma cells caused by its shRNA plasmids. (a) Quantitative PCR assays revealed the dramatically reduced expression levels of KIF18A caused by its shRNA in both A549 and H1975 cells, respectively. (b) Immunoblot assays confirmed the efficient silencing of KIF18A caused by its shRNA plasmids in A549 and H1975 cells. Results are presented as themean±SD; ∗P<0.05.
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(b)Next, we detected the effects of KIF18A on the proliferation of A549 and H1975 cells. Both colony formation assays and MTT assays were performed to evaluate cell proliferation capacity of lung adenocarcinoma. Data of colony formation assays exhibited that KIF18A depletion obviously reduced colony number (Figure3(a)). Similarly, an obvious decrease absorbance value at 570 nm was detected in these 2 types of lung adenocarcinoma cells through MTT assays (Figure 3(b)). All these results confirmed the impaired proliferation capacity caused by KIF18A depletion.Figure 3
KIF18A promotes the proliferation, migration and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells in vitro. (a) A549 and H1975 cells transfected with control or KIF18A shRNA, and the proliferation capacity was quantified by colony number through colony formation assays. (b) The OD value generated by MTT assays showed the inhibition of cell proliferation caused by KIF18A ablation. (c) KIF18A depletion resulted in the lower migration degree in A549 and H1975 cells. Photographs showed that at 0- and 24-hour time points, migrated cells were present. (d) Transwell assays using both A549 and H1975 human lung adenocarcinoma cells transfected with control or KIF18A shRNA plasmids, and the degree of invasion was quantified by the invasion cell number. Results are presented as themean±SD; ∗P<0.05.
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(d)We then performed wound healing and transwell assays to evaluate the effects of KIF18A on the migration and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells. Interestingly, our results exhibited that KIF18A depletion dramatically suppressed the extent of wound healing in both A549 and H1975 cells (Figure3(c)). Additionally, KIF18A depletion significantly blocked the invasion of these 2 types of lung cancer cells through membranes, with dramatically dropped cell number (Figure 3(d)), confirmed by transwell assays.Collectively, our results indicated that KIF18A contributes to cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma in vitro.


## 3.3. KIF18A Induces the Growth and Metastasis of Lung Adenocarcinoma in Mice

Based on the previous results, KIF18A depletion resulted in the inhibition of the proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells; we further evaluated the possible effects of KIF18A in the growth and metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma in mice.Tumor growth assays were firstly performed in mice to explore the possible effects of KIF18A on the growth of lung adenocarcinoma in mice. A549 cells were infected with control or KIF18A shRNA lentivirus and subcutaneously injected into nude mice. After 2 weeks, tumors were isolated from mice and photographed, and the volume of tumors was measured every week. Representative photographs were shown (Figure4(a)). The growth curve is calculated and exhibited in Figure 4(a). According to the results, the volume of tumors isolated from KIF18A knockdown groups was significantly smaller than that in control groups (Figure 4(a)).Figure 4
KIF18A contributes to lung adenocarcinoma growth and metastasis in mice. (a) A549 cells infected with control or KIF18A shRNA lentivirus were subcutaneously implanted into nude mice. After 2 weeks, tumors were isolated, and volume was examined every 3 days. (n=6 in each group). Tumor growth curve was calculated and analyzed according to the average volume of 6 tumors in each group. (b) Lung metastasis assays were performed, and the representative photographs of the lung in control or KIF18A shRNA lentivirus-infected groups were shown. (c) IHC assays indicated the expression levels of KIF18A in control or KIF18A depletion tumor tissues isolated from mice. Results are presented as the mean ± SD; ∗P<0.05.
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(c)We further performed lung metastasis assay in mice. A549 cells were infected with KIF18A shRNA lentivirus to stably knockdown its expression. Subsequently, control or KIF18A stably depletion A549 cells injected into the caudal vein of nude mice. After 7 weeks, we found that the incidence of lung metastasis for A549 cells was obviously decreased compared with control (Figure4(b)).To confirm the silencing efficiency of KIF18A shRNA lentivirus in mice, we detected KIF18A expression levels in tumor tissues through IHC assays. As we expected, the expression levels of KIF18A in the depletion groups were obviously reduced compared with the control groups (Figure4(c)).In conclusion, these results confirmed that KIF18A induces the growth and metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma in mice.


## 4. Discussion

Although the improvement of early detection and combined therapy has resulted in a decrease of lung cancer death, the development and metastasis of advanced lung cancer are still the main cause of high mortality rates [23]. As various studies reported, kinesins were involved in the development and metastasis of multiple tumors [24]. Interestingly, we identified a member of the kinesin superfamily, KIF18A, which promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion capacity of lung adenocarcinoma cells. Due to the lack of clinical effects of traditional therapeutic drugs, the implementation of a novel promising drug is highly desirable for better treatment of advanced lung adenocarcinoma [25]. KIF18A as a potential antitumor therapeutic target has been widely reported. Our study proved KIF18A as a novel and promising molecular target for the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma.In our study, we found the high expression of KIF18A in lung adenocarcinoma tissues compared with corresponding normal tissue. Through IHC assays and clinical feature analysis, we also found that the expression of KIF18A was correlated with clinical features including the tumor size and clinical stage, which induced the poor prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma. Consistent with our findings, KIF18A has a reported high expression in tumor tissues and promoted cell proliferation and migration of many types of cancers, such as gastric cancer and breast cancer. Whether KIF18A has similar effects in different tumors is also worthy of further study.The kinesins are associated with microtubules and involved in various cellular processes related to spindle organization and chromosome movement [26]. Further, kinesins could be involved in the regulation of cell cycle, proliferation, and migration [26]. Previous studies revealed that microtubule dynamics is critical for the establishment of the interphase polarized cytoskeleton and therefore stabilized the plus ends of the microtubule in the array at the leading edges, which is necessary for cell proliferation and migration [27]. Notably, KIF18A has been found to suppress dynamic instability of interphase microtubules [28]. Therefore, as a member of the kinesin superfamily, KIF18A might affect cell proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma in a microtubule-dependent manner, and the precise regulatory mechanism underlying KIF18A promoting lung adenocarcinoma needs further study.In addition to KIF18A, various types of kinesins are reported to be involved in tumor progression. In previous studies, KIF1B and KIF14 promoted the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and are correlated with the prognosis of patients with HCC [29, 30]. KIF20B could regulate tongue cancer progression by promoting cell proliferation [31]. Additionally, KIF14 contributes to cancer metastasis and is associated with the poor prognosis of patients with gastric cancer [32]. These studies, together with our findings in this study, confirmed the key roles of kinesins in cancer development and revealed kinesins could be promising therapeutic targets for cancer treatment.In conclusion, our current study reveals the high expression of KIF18A in lung adenocarcinoma tissues, correlated with the clinical features of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Furthermore, we found that KIF18A contributed to the proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells in vitro and promoted the growth and metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma in mice. These results help in providing a better understanding of the possible regulatory mechanisms of tumor progression and a promising therapeutic target for lung adenocarcinoma-targeted therapy.



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