Kinase DYRK2 acts as a regulator of autophagy and an indicator of favorable prognosis in gastric carcinoma.

Gastric cancer (GC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide; therefore, new and more specific molecules for GC are needed. Here, we found that dual specificity tyrosine phosphorylation regulated kinase 2 (DYRK2) may be a specific marker for GC. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and statistical and bioinformatics analyses were conducted to detect DYRK2 expression in stomach tissues. The role of DYRK2 in GC was analyzed with a nude mouse model and CCK-8, wound healing and Transwell assays. Western blotting and immunofluorescence experiments were also performed to elucidate the relationship between DYRK2 expression and both epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and autophagy progression. We found that DYRK2 expression in GC tissues was lower than that in benign or normal tissues, and patients with high DYRK2 expression had a good prognosis. The in vitro results showed that DYRK2 expression inhibited the tumorigenic activities of GC, including proliferation, migration, and invasion. By analyzing the expression of EMT markers after altering DYRK2 expression, we observed that DYRK2 inhibits the occurrence of EMT. The nude mouse model revealed that DYRK2 inhibits tumor growth. Finally, we used Western blotting and immunofluorescence assays and found that DYRK2 promotes autophagy. Based on these data, DYRK2 may be a good reference indicator for the clinical diagnosis of GC.