Neoplasma Vol.61, No.1, p.35-40, 2014

Clear cell renal carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common tumor of the kidney.in adults. The prognosis of ccRCC remains unsatisfactory. Recently, T cell immunoglobulin mucin-3 (TIM-3), a novel transmembrane protein, has been implicated in tumor biology. Its role in ccRCC remains unkonwn. The aim of this study was to investigate the roles of TIM-3 as a prognostic marker in patients with ccRCC.TIM-3 protein expression was determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blot from 137 ccRCC tumor samples and adjacent normal renal tissues. We performed also the cell proliferation assay using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol -2yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and cell invasion assay.

The effects of small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated knockdown of TIM-3 (TIM-3 siRNA) in two human ccRCC cell lines were evaluated. TIM-3 expression was higher in ccRCC tissue than in the adjacent normal renal tissue (P<0.001).

High TIM-3 expression was an independent predictor of both cancer-specific survival and progression-free survival. TIM-3 protein was expressed in both ccRCC cell lines. Knockdown of TIM-3 suppressed the proliferation and invasion capacity of ccRCC cell lines.TIM-3 expression was associated with poor prognosis in ccRCC. Taken together, TIM-3 is a potential prognostic marker in ccRCC.