Scientists Identify Potential Drug Target For Kidney Cancer

Scientists have laid the foundation of completely understanding the intricacies of distinct kidney cancer subtypes, which could lead to better treatments for the disease.

Van Andel Research Institute scientists conducted two studies. In one study led by Kyle Furge, Ph.D. and Aikseng Ooi, Ph.D., researchers provide a more complete understanding of the biology of Type 2 papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC2), an aggressive type of kidney cancer with no effective treatment, which lays the foundation for the development of effective treatment strategies.

Quiz on Kidney
The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a fist, and are located just below the rib cage, one on each side of your spine.

Healthy kidneys filter about half a cup of blood every minute, removing wastes and extra water to make urine. The urine flows from the kidneys to the bladder through two thin tubes of muscle called ureters, one on each side of your bladder. The bladder stores urine. The kidneys, ureters, and bladder are partof the urinary tract.

kidneys remove wastes and extra fluid from your body. Kidneys also remove acid that is produced by the cells of your body and maintain a healthy balance of water, salts, and minerals-such as sodium, calcium, phosphorus and potassium-in your blood ().

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Without this balance, nerves, muscles, and other tissues in the body may not work normally.

Kidneys also make hormones that help

Control your blood pressure
Make red blood cells
Keep your bones strong and healthy

Despite obvious morphological, genetic, and clinical differences, hereditary PRCC2 is thought to share similar pathway deregulation due to genetic mutation with its counterpart, clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC), a subtype that accounts for 75 percent of all kidney cancers and that, unlike PRCC2, responds favourably to drugs targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a signal protein produced by cells that stimulate blood vessel formation.

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The study, identified deregulation of the KEAP1-NRF2 signalling pathway as a factor that distinguishes PRCC2 from CCRCC, but links both hereditary and sporadic PRCC2.

In another study led by Yan Ding, Ph.D. and Bin Tean Teh, Ph.D. researchers integrated gene expression profiling and RNAi screening data to identify genes involved in CCRCC development and progression.

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In recent years, several molecularly targeted therapies such as sunitinib, sorafenib, and pazopanib, which target the receptor tyrosine kinases of VEGF have been approved for CCRCC.

Although these therapies significantly extend overall survival, nearly all patients with advanced CCRCC eventually succumb to the disease.

Gene set enrichment analysis indicated that cell-cycle-related genes, in particular PLK1, were associated with disease aggressiveness. Further, the association of PLK1 in both disease aggression and in vitro growth prompted researchers to examine the effects of a small-molecule inhibitor in CCRCC cell lines. Their findings highlight PLK1 as a promising potential therapeutic target for CCRCC.

The studies have been published in Cancer Cell and Cancer Research.

Source-ANI