Visfatin Promotes Renal Cell Carcinoma Progression: Evidence from Clinical Samples and Cell Line Models

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Endocrinology
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Perirenal fat secretes adipokines, influencing tumor development, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
• Visfatin, an adipokine, is implicated in RCC, but its specific role in tumor progression is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate visfatin expression in perirenal fat of RCC patients.
• To correlate visfatin levels with RCC malignancy.
• To examine visfatin's role in RCC cell lines in vitro.

Main Methods:

• Real-time PCR to measure visfatin mRNA in adipose tissue from 57 RCC patients.
• In vitro MTT assays and Western blots on human RCC cell lines.
• Assessed effects of visfatin addition and FK866 (visfatin inhibitor) on cell proliferation and protein expression.

Main Results:

• Higher visfatin mRNA expression in peri-tumor fat correlated with higher Fuhrman grade (≥2) RCC.
• Visfatin addition promoted RCC cell proliferation, increasing HIF1α, p-Akt, and p-ERK.
• FK866 suppressed RCC cell proliferation and reduced these protein levels.

Conclusions:

• Peri-tumor adipose tissue-derived visfatin influences RCC malignancy and promotes tumor growth.
• Visfatin may represent a therapeutic target for intervening in RCC progression.
• Adipose tissue contributes to RCC progression via mechanisms involving visfatin.