Transforming growth factor-β pathway in human renal cell carcinoma and surrounding normal-appearing renal parenchyma

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the role of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta pathway in venal tumors and to verify whether alterations in TGF-beta1 pathway expression are associated with the grade of tumor differentation and pathologic stage in renal cell carcinomas. STUDY DESIGN: The expression of TGF-beta1 and TGF-beta receptors (T beta RI and T beta RII), SMAD-2 and SMAD-4 was investigated by immunohistochemistry in normal peritumoral and tumoral tissue from 53 renal cell carcinomas (clear cell type). The gene expression of SMAD-2 and SMAD-4 was also studied by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in normal peritumoral and tumoral tissue from 6 of 56 primary tumors. RESULTS: TGF-beta1, T beta RI and T beta RII immunoreactivity was more frequent in tumoral than in normal peritumoral venal tissue (96.22%, 79.25% and 75.41% vs. 88.37%, 69.76% and 62.69%), whereas SMAD-2 and SMAD-4 immunoreactivity was move frequent in normal peritumoral than in tumoral tissue (23.25% and 30.23% vs. 15.09% and 7.54%). In tumor areas, immunohistochemical scores were lower for T beta RII than for T beta RI and TGF-beta1 and higher than SMAD-4 and SMAD-2 scores. TGF-beta1, T beta RI, T beta RII and SMAD-4 histologic scores correlated with neither the histologic grade of malignancy nor TNM clinical stage, whereas SMAD-2 protein levels were significantly lower in grade 3 than in grade 1 tumors. In the samples of normal kidney and carcinoma studied, RT-PCR detected the correct transcripts for SMAD-2 and SMAD-4, indicating that the RNA of the samples analyzed contained RNA sequences coding for these genes. CONCLUSION: Our data support the concert that the reduction of T beta RII and SMAD proteins in venal cell carcinomas is involved in tumor development and suggest an altered TGF-beta /SMAD signalling pathway in kidney neoplasia.