Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 1, 2026

Assessing Cellular Target Engagement by SHP2 PTPN11 Phosphatase Inhibitors
Published on: July 17, 2020
Protein phosphatase-2A is down-regulated in patients within clear cell renal cell carcinoma
Jun Li1, Chang Sheng2, Wei Li3
1Department of Urology, Pudong New Area People's Hospital Shanghai, 201200, China ; Department of Urology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University Shanghai, 200072, China.
Background:
Protein phosphatase-2A (PP2A) is one of the major cellular serine-threonine phosphatases. It positively regulates apoptosis and negatively regulates the mitogenic pathway, suggesting that loss of it might be involved in cancer development. Recent studies found its association with breast, lung and colorectal cancer; however, its expression profile and its prognostic value in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) have not been investigated.
Methods:
Real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot were used to explore PP2A expression in ccRCC and normal renal tissues. Moreover immunohistochemistry (ICH) was used to detect the expression of PP2A in ccRCC. Spearman's rank correlation, Kaplan-Meier plots and Cox proportional hazards regression model were used to analyze the data.
Results:
Down-regulated expression of PP2A mRNA and protein was observed in the majority of ccRCC by qRT-PCR and Western blot when compared with their paired normal renal tissues. Clinic pathological analysis was showed a significant correlation existed between the lower expression of PP2A protein with the histological grade, lymph node metastasis and tumor distant metastasis (P<0.05); Survival analysis by Kaplan-Meier survival curve and log-rank test demonstrated that reduced PP2A expression in cancer tissue predicted poorer overall survival (OS) compared with group in higher expression. Notably, multivariate analyses by Cox's proportional hazard model revealed that expression of PP2A was an independent prognostic factor in ccRCC.
Conclusions:
These results suggest that the aberrant expression of PP2A in human ccRCC is possibly involved with tumorigenesis and development, and the PP2A protein could act as a potential biomarker for prognosis assessment of renal cancer. Further studies on the cellular functions of PP2A need to address these issues.
More Related Videos
09:36Recombinant α- β- and γ-Synucleins Stimulate Protein Phosphatase 2A Catalytic Subunit Activity in Cell Free Assays
Published on: August 13, 2017
12:22The Use of Reverse Phase Protein Arrays RPPA to Explore Protein Expression Variation within Individual Renal Cell Cancers
Published on: January 22, 2013
Related Concept Videos
Protein Kinases and Phosphatases
Protein kinases
Many proteins in the cell are regulated by phosphorylation, the addition of a phosphate group. A family of enzymes called kinases...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
Receptor Downregulation in MVBs
The EGFR can initiate signaling pathways that lead to cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Overexpression of EGFR stimulates cells to proliferate. Excessive EGFR...
Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes
Abnormal Proliferation