BHD-associated kidney cancer displays unique molecular characteristics that are completely different from sporadic kidney cancer, providing mechanistic insight into tumorigenesis under FLCN-deficiency as well as a foundation for development of novel therapeutics for kidney cancer.
These results indicate that SCFβ-TRCP negatively regulates the FLCN complex by promoting FNIP degradation and provide molecular insight into the pathogenesis of BHD-associated renal cancer.
These findings may provide mechanistic insight into the role of FLCN in regulating kidney cell proliferation and facilitate the development of novel therapeutics for FLCN-deficient kidney cancer.
Thus, several BHD symptoms may be due to abnormal levels of FLCN rather than its complete loss and accordingly, we show expression of mutant FLCN in a BHD-associated renal carcinoma.
The identification of novel FLCN interacting proteins FNIP1 and FNIP2/L and their interaction with 5'-AMP activated protein kinase (AMPK) has provided a link between FLCN and the AMPK-mTOR axis and suggested molecular targets for therapeutic intervention to treat BHD kidney cancer and fibrofolliculomas.
Folliculin (FLCN) is a tumor suppressor whose function is lost in Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome (BHD), a disorder characterized by renal cancer of multiple histological types including clear cell carcinoma, cutaneous fibrofolliculoma, and pneumothorax.
Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome (BHDS), caused by germline mutations in the folliculin (FLCN) gene, predisposes individuals to develop fibrofolliculomas, pulmonary cysts, spontaneous pneumothoraces, and kidney cancer.
Discovery of disease-causing mutations in BHD, a novel kidney cancer gene associated with renal oncocytoma or chromophobe renal cancer, will contribute to understanding the role of folliculin in pathways common to skin, lung, and kidney development.
Disease-free survival curves of Kif11 with different cancers and the relationships between Kif11 and the von Hippel-Lindau disease tumour suppressor gene (<i>VHL</i>), and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in kidney cancer were further analysed using the GEPIA database.
We applied our approach to analyze hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma (HLRCC), a type of kidney cancer that harbors fumarate hydratase (FH)-inactivating mutations and has elevated ROS levels.
Heterozygous germline mutations in the FH gene predispose to an aggressive autosomal dominant inherited early-onset kidney cancer syndrome: hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer (HLRCC).
Hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell carcinoma (HLRCC) is an autosomal dominant manifestation of cutaneous and uterine leiomyomas together with renal cancer due to autosomal dominant germline mutations of fumarate hydratase gene.
Inactivation of the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor protein (pVHL) is the signature lesion in the most common form of kidney cancer, clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). pVHL loss causes the transcriptional activation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) target genes, including many genes that encode histone lysine demethylases.