Targeting dual specificity protein kinase TTK attenuates tumorigenesis of glioblastoma

Accumulating evidence has proved that glioma stem-like cells (GSCs) are responsible for tumorigenesis, treatment resistance, and subsequent tumor recurrence in glioblastoma (GBM). In this study, we identified dual specificity protein kinase TTK (TTK) as the most up-regulated and differentially expressed kinase encoding genes in GSCs. Functionally, TTK was essential for in vitro clonogenicity and in vivo tumor propagation in GSCs. Clinically, TTK expression was highly enriched in GBM, moreover, was inversely correlated with a poor prognosis in GBM patients. Mechanistically, mitochondrial fission regulator 2 (MTFR2) was identified as one of the most correlated genes to TTK and transcriptionally regulated TTK expression via activation of TTK promoter. Collectively, MTFR2-dependent regulation of TTK plays a key role in maintaining GSCs in GBM and is a potential novel druggable target for GBM.