Analysis of RHEB gene expression levels in renal tumors

Kidney cancer is an abnormal growth and uncontrolled proliferation of cells in the kidney tissue. Kidney cancer has become one of the most common cancers worldwide in recent years. Ras Homolog Enriched in Brain (RHEB) is a GTP-binding protein found in humans and other mammals that controls the growth of cells and the cell cycle. The RHEB protein contributes to the abnormal activation of the mammalian Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway as well as being central to the insulin/TOR/S6K signaling pathway. The aim of our study was to investigate the changes in mRNA expression levels of RHEB gene in kidney tumors compared to control kidney tissue. Eleven patients diagnosed with kidney cancer who were admitted to the urology outpatient clinic were included in the study. Kidney tumor tissue was used as the study group and healthy kidney tissue from the same patient was used as the control group. Gene expression levels were determined by SYBR Green Based Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). It was found that the mRNA expression levels of RHEB gene in kidney cancer cells decreased compared to the control group, but this decrease was not statistically significant (p=0.083). Studies conducted to understand the role of the RHEB gene on the development and progression of kidney cancer may provide important information for future researches. Key Words: Kidney Tumor, mTOR, RHEB, qRT-PZR