Sucrose Non-Fermenting Related Kinase Expression in Ovarian Cancer and Correlation with Clinical Features.

Sucrose non-fermenting related kinase (SNRK) is a serine/threonine kinase known to regulate cellular metabolism and adipocyte inflammation. Since alterations in adipocyte metabolism play a role in ovarian cancer metastasis, we investigated the expression of SNRK in benign and malignant human ovarian tissue using immunohistochemistry and qPCR. The number of SNRK positive (+) nuclei is increased in malignant tissue compared to benign tissue (21.03% versus 14.90%, p < .0431). The most strongly stained malignant SNRK+ nuclei were stage 1 compared to stage 2-4 disease. Differential expression of SNRK in early versus late stage disease suggests specific roles for SNRK in ovarian cancer metastasis.