Genetic Identification, Structural Characterization and Expression Analysis of KPCQ in Breast Cancer

Abstract

Protein kinase θ is a novel isozyme comprising 706 amino acids. The role of protein kinases theta has been explored in several different cancers like breast cancer, leukemia, gastrointestinal stromal tumor and other cancers. The structure of KPCQ was determined, validated and domains were analyzed through computational approaches. In-silico methodology was adopted for carrying out protein-protein docking and determining the hydrophobic as well as hydrophilic interactions amongst them. This particular study aims to investigate the possible role of KPCQ , p21 and c-jun in the progression of breast cancer. Two-hundred samples were analyzed by real-time quantitative PCR for determining the relative expression of KPCQ, p21 and c-jun in breast cancer patients (stage I, II, III, IV). The target gene and interacting protein expression was also linked with the risk factors as well as clinical features of breast cancer. The study concluded that the expression of PRKCQ and c-jun was elevated in breast cancer patients. However, the tumor suppressor gene, p-21, expression was downregulated. The genes showed differential expression when linked to risk factors and clinical features. Lastly, molecular dynamic simulations provided evidence related to the structural and functional changes due to the induced mutation. All this information is useful for early diagnosis and developing therapeutics for treatment of cancer.