Expression of SRPK1 in gliomas and its role in glioma cell lines viability

Among factors regulating the splicing of major importance is serine/arginine protein kinase 1 (SRPK1) that phosphorylates SR splicing factors. SRPK1 is expressed in the mammalian central nervous system in a region- and neuron-specific manner. Based on previous observations that glial cells are practically devoid of SRPK1 and reports showing aberrant expression of SRPK1 in numerous tumors, but with conflicting roles, this study aims to investigate the expression of SRPK1 in glioma and its influence on tumor cell biological features. As shown by immunohistochemical analysis, malignant glioma cells express SRPK1 in glioblastomas with significant association between SRPK1 expression and patients’ survival. SRPK1 expression was also significantly upregulated at the messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein level in glioma cell lines. Small interfering RNA-mediated downregulation of SRPK1 had little effect on cell viability, while it slightly enhanced the sensitivity of cells to killing by cisplatin. These results support the idea that at least in vitro, the effect of SRPK1 knockdown on the viability of glioma cell lines is rather limited, while the in vivo effects could be attributed to the modulation of angiogenesis by SRPK1.