To explore the expression and clinical significance of KIF15 in glioma were analyzed by mining The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) glioma gene profiling databases.

The expression characteristics of KIF15 in the nervous system were explored through the human protein database. The mRNAseq data of tumor samples from glioma patients in TCGA and CGGA were obtained to analyze the differences in the transcription level of KIF15 in glioma of different grades and pathological types, as well as the relationship between the differences in the transcription level of KIF15 and the median survival time of patients. Immunohistochemical staining of KIF15 was performed on the glioma specimen chip to analyze the difference of KIF15 protein level in different glioma levels, and the correlation between KIF15 and tumor proliferation index Ki67 was analyzed by transcriptome data, and the molecular signaling pathway of KIF15 involved in regulation in glioma was discussed by gene ontology (GO) analysis and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs).

Low levels of KIF15 protein and transcription were detected in various parts of the brain of the central nervous system. Analysis of TCGA and CGGA transcriptome data showed that the higher the level of glioma WHO was, the higher the mRNA level of KIF15 was, and the difference was statistically significant when compared with WHO grade Ⅳ and WHO grade Ⅱ and Ⅲ (P<0.05); Moreover, KIF15 mRNA level was the highest in glioblastoma, which was statistically different from that in astrocytes, oligodendrogliomas, oligoastrocytoma, anaplastic astrocytoma, and anaplastic oligodendrogliomas (P<0.05). The median survival time of patients with high KIF15 transcription level was shorter than that of patients with low KIF15 transcription level, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The results of glioma tissue chip staining showed that the higher the WHO grade was, the higher the staining intensity score of glioma tissue tended to be. The WHO grade Ⅳ glioma score was mainly 2 points and 3 points, while the WHO grade Ⅱ score was mainly 0 and 1 point. The mRNA levels of KIF15 and Ki67 were significantly positively correlated, with r values of 0.725 and 0.706 in the TCGA transcriptome data and the CGGA transcriptome database, respectively. A total of 707 DEGs were screened from the TCGA transcriptomic data. Compared with the low KIF15 group, 328 DEGs with increased expression level and 379 DEGs with decreased expression level were detected in the high KIF15 group. GO analysis showed that the top 10 biological processes in which these DEGs are involved include cell cycle transformation and cell mitosis regulation. Molecular signaling pathways KEGG analysis showed that DEGs was involved in molecular signaling pathways including cell cycle, P53 pathway, and DNA replication.

KIF15 is highly expressed in gliomas, and a high level of KIF15 indicates a high degree of glioma malignancy and a poor survival. KIF15 is involved in the regulation of tumor cell cycle pathways and may be a potential target for glioma gene therapy.