Ribosomal protein S15A (RPS15A), a member of the ribosomal protein gene family, was demonstrated to be closely associated with tumorigenesis in multiple human malignancies. Nevertheless, the role of RPS15A in the progression of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains unknown. In the present study, by comparing the publicly available data from RCC tissues and reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction results, it was identified that RPS15A was upregulated in RCC tissues and cell lines (P<0.001). Notably, knockdown of RPS15A suppressed 786‑O cell proliferation (P<0.001) and promoted its apoptosis/necrotic (P=0.0001) in vitro. Additionally, tumour formation and growth of transfected 786‑O cells were observed to be restrained in a mouse model (P<0.05). Subsequent to analysing the microarray data, 747 genes were differentially expressed in the RPS15A‑knockdown 786‑O cells. The enriched canonical pathways, diseases and functions of differentially expressed genes, and the interactive network of RPS15A in RCC were successfully constructed by ingenuity pathway analysis. Overall, the present results provided a preliminary experimental basis for RPS15A as a novel oncogene and potential therapeutic target in RCC.
Keywords: renal cell carcinoma; ribosomal protein S15A; tumour progression; interactive network; apoptosis.