Heparanase expression and glycosaminoglycans profile in renal cell carcinoma

A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of renal cell carcinogenesis could contribute to a decrease in the mortality rate of this disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the glycosaminoglycans profile and heparanase expression in renal cell carcinoma. The study included 24 patients submitted to nephrectomy with confirmed pathological diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma. The majority of the samples (87.5%) were classified in the initial stage of renal cell carcinoma (clinical stages I and II). Heparanase messenger ribonucleic acid expression was evaluated by quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and sulfated glycosaminoglycans were identified and quantified by agarose gel electrophoresis of renal cell carcinoma samples or non-neoplastic tissues obtained from the same patients (control group). The sulfated glycosaminoglycans and hyaluronic acid were analyzed in urine samples of the patients before and after surgery. The data showed a significant statistical increase in chondroitin sulfate, and a decrease in heparan sulfate and dermatan sulfate present in neoplastic tissues compared with non-neoplastic tissues. Higher heparanase messenger ribonucleic acid expression in the neoplastic tissues was also shown, compared with the non-neoplastic tissues. The urine glycosaminoglycans profile showed no significant difference between renal cell carcinoma and control samples. Extracellular matrix changes observed in the present study clarify that heparanase is possibly involved with heparan sulfate turnover, and that heparanase and the glycosaminoglycans can modulate initial events of renal cell carcinoma development.