Choline Kinase Alpha Promoted Glioma Development by Activating PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway

Abstract

<b><i>Objective:</i></b> The most commonly reported primary brain tumor in adults is glioma. Choline kinase alpha (<i>CHKA</i>) has been proved to play important roles in glioma. However, the mechanism of <i>CHKA</i> involved remains unclear. Therefore, this study aims to explore the mechanism of <i>CHKA</i> in glioma development. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Immunohistochemistry, qRT-PCR, and Western blot were used to detect the expression of <i>CHKA</i>. Flow cytometry, Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), transwell, and wound healing assays were performed to evaluate cell apoptosis, proliferation, invasion, and migration, respectively. RNA sequencing was used to explore the differentially expressed genes affected by <i>CHKA</i>. The enrichment analysis of gene ontology (<i>GO</i>) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (<i>KEGG</i>) helped to detect the signaling pathways <i>CHKA</i> affected. Tumor-bearing mice were established and evaluated by TUNEL assay, Ki-67 immunohistochemistry. and hematoxylin and eosin staining. <b><i>Results:</i></b> <i>CHKA</i> increased in glioma tissues and promoted cell proliferation, invasion, and migration, while inhibiting the glioma cell apoptosis. It was also showed that <i>CHKA</i> promoted glioma development <i>in vivo</i>. <i>GO</i> and KEGG analysis indicated that PI3K/AKT was significantly enriched in <i>CHKA</i> knockdown U251 cells. And <i>CHKA</i> promoted glioma development by activating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> The authors demonstrated that <i>CHKA</i> was significantly elevated in glioma tissues. Mechanism analysis indicated that <i>CHKA</i> could promote glioma development by activating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, suggesting that <i>CHKA</i> is promising to be a biomarker and therapeutic strategy for prognostic prediction of patients with glioma.