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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

The Use of Reverse Phase Protein Arrays (RPPA) to Explore Protein Expression Variation within Individual Renal Cell Cancers
12:22

The Use of Reverse Phase Protein Arrays (RPPA) to Explore Protein Expression Variation within Individual Renal Cell Cancers

Published on: January 22, 2013

PPARγ is functionally expressed in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Nicolas Collet1, Sandrine Théoleyre, Julie Rageul

  • 1CNRS UMR 6061, Institut de Génétique et Développement, Université Rennes 1, 35043 Rennes, France.

International Journal of Oncology
|January 6, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) is expressed and functional in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC), indicating its potential as a therapeutic target for this cancer.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) agonists inhibit cancer cell growth, including in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC).
  • PPARγ is a potential therapeutic target for CCRCC, necessitating its expression and integrity in cancer cells.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the expression, alterations, and functionality of the PPARγ gene in CCRCC specimens.
  • To determine if PPARγ is a viable therapeutic target for CCRCC treatment.

Main Methods:

  • Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) to detect PPARγ gene deletions.
  • DNA sequencing to identify mutations in PPARγ coding exons.
  • Real-time quantitative PCR to measure PPARγ transcript levels.
  • Analysis of angiopoietin-like 4 expression to assess PPARγ functionality.

Main Results:

  • The majority of CCRCC tumors (76.2%) showed no PPARγ alterations. Two samples (3.2%) had deletions in non-coding exon A1, and nine (14.3%) had heterozygous deletions in chromosome 3p including PPARγ.
  • No mutations were found in coding exons 1-5; a silent polymorphism was detected in exon 6 (22.2%).
  • PPARγ1 isoform was expressed, and reduced transcript levels correlated with higher Fuhrman grade. PPARγ was functional in CCRCC cell lines, as evidenced by angiopoietin-like 4 induction.

Conclusions:

  • PPARγ is expressed and functional in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.
  • The gene integrity is largely maintained, with specific deletions observed in a subset of tumors.
  • PPARγ represents a promising therapeutic target for CCRCC treatment.

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