RASSF1A promoter methylation and expression analysis in normal and neoplastic kidney indicates a role in early tumorigenesis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Epigenetic silencing of the RAS association domain family 1A (<it>RASSF1A</it>) tumor suppressor gene promoter has been demonstrated in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) as a result of promoter hypermethylation. Contradictory results have been reported for <it>RASSF1A </it>methylation in normal kidney, thus it is not clear whether a significant difference between <it>RASSF1A </it>methylation in normal and tumor cells of the kidney exists. Moreover, RASSF1A expression has not been characterized in tumors or normal tissue as yet.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using combined bisulfite restriction analysis (COBRA) we compared RASSF1A methylation in 90 paired tissue samples obtained from primary kidney tumors and corresponding normal tissue. Bisulfite sequence analysis was carried out using both pooled amplicons from the tumor and normal tissue groups and subclones obtained from a single tissue pair. Expression of RASSF1A was analyzed by the use of tissue arrays and immunohistochemistry. We found significantly increased methylation in tumor samples (mean methylation, 20%) compared to corresponding normal tissues (mean methylation, 11%; <it>P </it>< 0.001). Densely methylated sequences were found both in pooled and individual sequences of normal tissue. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed a significant reduced expression of RASSF1A in most of the tumor samples. Heterogeneous expression patterns of RASSF1A were detected in a subgroup of histologically normal tubular epithelia.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our methylation and expression data support the hypothesis that <it>RASSF1A </it>is involved in early tumorigenesis of renal cell carcinoma.</p

Acceptance, Prevalence and Indications for Robot-Assisted Laparoscopy - Results of a Survey Among Urologists in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Background: Robotic-assisted laparoscopy (RAL) is being widely accepted in the field of urology as a replacement for conventional laparoscopy (CL). Nevertheless, the process of its integration in clinical routines has been rather spontaneous. Objective: To determine the prevalence of robotic systems (RS) in urological clinics in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the acceptance of RAL among urologists as a replacement for CL and its current use for 25 different urological indications. Materials and Methods: To elucidate the practice patterns of RAL, a survey at hospitals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland was conducted. All surgically active urology departments in Germany (303), Austria (37) and Switzerland (84) received a questionnaire with questions related to the one-year period prior to the survey. Results: The response rate was 63%. Among the participants, 43% were universities, 45% were tertiary care centres, and 8% were secondary care hospitals. A total of 60 RS (Germany 35, Austria 8, Switzerland 17) were available, and the majority (68%) were operated under public ownership. The perception of RAL and the anticipated superiority of RAL significantly differed between robotic and non-robotic surgeons. For only two urologic indications were more than 50% of the procedures performed using RAL: pyeloplasty (58%) and transperitoneal radical prostatectomy (75%). On average, 35% of robotic surgeons and only 14% of non-robotic surgeons anticipated RAL superiority in some of the 25 indications. Conclusions: This survey provides a detailed insight into RAL implementation in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. RAL is currently limited to a few urological indications with a small number of high-volume robotic centres. These results might suggest that a saturation of clinics using RS has been achieved but that the existing robotic capacities are being utilized ineffectively. The possible reasons for this finding are discussed, and certain strategies to solve these problems are offered

Fibronectin 1 mRNA expression correlates with advanced disease in renal cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fibronectin 1 (<it>FN1</it>) is a glycoprotein involved in cellular adhesion and migration processes. The aim of this study was to elucidate the role of <it>FN1 </it>in development of renal cell cancer (RCC) and to determine a prognostic relevance for optimal clinical management.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>212 renal tissue samples (109 RCC, 86 corresponding tissues from adjacent normal renal tissue and 17 oncocytomas) were collected from patients undergoing surgery for renal tumors and subjected to total RNA extraction. Detection of <it>FN1 </it>mRNA expression was performed using quantitative real time PCR, three endogenous controls, renal proximal tubular epithelial cells (RPTEC) as biological control and the ΔΔCt method for calculation of relative quantities.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mean tissue specific <it>FN1 </it>mRNA expression was found to be increased approximately seven fold comparing RCC and corresponding kidney control tissues (p < 0.001; ANOVA). Furthermore, tissue specific mean <it>FN1 </it>expression was increased approx. 11 fold in clear cell compared to papillary RCC (p = 9×10^-5; Wilcoxon rank sum test). Patients with advanced disease had higher <it>FN1 </it>expression when compared to organ-confined disease (p < 0.001; Wilcoxon rank sum test). Applying subgroup analysis we found a significantly higher <it>FN1 </it>mRNA expression between organ-confined and advanced disease in the papillary and not in the clear cell RCC group (p = 0.02 vs. p = 0.2; Wilcoxon rank sum test). There was an increased expression in RCC compared to oncocytoma (p = 0.016; ANOVA).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that <it>FN1 </it>mRNA expression is higher in RCC compared to normal renal tissue. <it>FN1 </it>mRNA expression might serve as a marker for RCC aggressiveness, indicating early systemic progression particularly for patients with papillary RCC.</p

Caveolin 1 protein expression in renal cell carcinoma predicts survival

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Caveolae play a significant role in disease phenotypes such as cancer, diabetes, bladder dysfunction, and muscular dystrophy. The aim of this study was to elucidate the caveolin-1 <it>(</it>CAV1<it>) </it>protein expression in renal cell cancer (RCC) and to determine its potential prognostic relevance.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>289 clear cell RCC tissue specimens were collected from patients undergoing surgery for renal tumors. Both cytoplasmic and membranous CAV1 expression were determined by immunohistochemistry and correlated with clinical variables. Survival analysis was carried out for 169 evaluable patients with a median follow up of 80.5 months (interquartile range (IQR), 24.5 - 131.7 months).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A high CAV1 expression in the tumor cell cytoplasm was significantly associated with male sex (p = 0.04), a positive nodal status (p = 0.04), and poor tumor differentiation (p = 0.04). In contrast, a higher than average (i.e. > median) CAV1 expression in tumor cell membranes was only linked to male sex (p = 0.03). Kaplan-Meier analysis disclosed significant differences in 5-year overall (51.4 vs. 75.2%, p = 0.001) and tumor specific survival (55.3 vs. 80.1%, p = 0.001) for patients with higher and lower than average cytoplasmic CAV1 expression levels, respectively. Applying multivariable Cox regression analysis a high CAV1 protein expression level in the tumor cell cytoplasm could be identified as an independent poor prognostic marker of both overall (p = 0.02) and tumor specific survival (p = 0.03) in clear cell RCC patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Over expression of caveolin-1 in the tumour cell cytoplasm predicts a poor prognosis of patients with clear cell RCC. CAV1 is likely to be a useful prognostic marker and may play an important role in tumour progression. Therefore, our data encourage further investigations to enlighten the role of CAV1 and its function as diagnostic and prognostic marker in serum and/or urine of RCC patients.</p

Cadherin-9 Is a Novel Cell Surface Marker for the Heterogeneous Pool of Renal Fibroblasts

BACKGROUND: Interstitial fibroblasts are a minor, but nevertheless very important, component of the kidney. They secrete and remodel extracellular matrix and they produce active compounds such as erythropoietin. However, studying human renal fibroblasts has been hampered by the lack of appropriate surface markers. METHODS AND FINDINGS: The expression of cadherin-9 in various human renal cell lines and tissues was studied on the mRNA level by RT-PCR and on the protein level with the help of newly generated cadherin-9 antibodies. The classical type II cadherin-9, so far only described in the neural system, was identified as a reliable surface marker for renal fibroblasts. Compared to FSP1, a widely-used cytosolic renal fibroblast marker, cadherin-9 showed a more restricted expression pattern in human kidney. Under pathological conditions, cadherin-9 was expressed in the stroma of renal cell carcinoma, but not in the tumor cells themselves, and in renal fibrosis the percentage of cadherin-9-positive cells was clearly elevated 3 to 5 times compared to healthy kidney tissue. Induction of epithelial mesenchymal transition in renal epithelial cells with cyclosporin-A, which causes renal fibrosis as a side effect, induced cadherin-9 expression. Functional studies following siRNA-mediated knockdown of cadherin-9 revealed that it acts in the kidney like a typical classical cadherin. It was found to be associated with catenins and to mediate homophilic but not heterophilic cell interactions. CONCLUSIONS: Cadherin-9 represents a novel and reliable cell surface marker for fibroblasts in healthy and diseased kidneys. Together with the established marker molecules FSP1, CD45 and alpha smooth muscle actin, cadherin-9 can now be used to differentiate the heterogenic pool of renal fibroblasts into resident and activated fibroblasts, immigrated bone marrow derived fibroblast precursors and cells in different stages of epithelial mesenchymal transition