Substantial research has revealed that peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARG) plays a critical role in glucose homeostasis and lipid metabolism, and recent studies have shown different effects in the progression of different tumors. However, the role of PPARG and its target gene in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) are incompletely understood. Clinical data revealed abnormal glucolipid metabolism in primary ccRCC samples. In addition, transcriptional profiling indicated that PPARG expression was positively correlated, whereas Six2 expression was negatively correlated with the overall survival of ccRCC patients. Staining showed that PPARG was mainly expressed in tumor cell cytoplasm, and Six2 was localized to the nuclei. In a ccRCC cell line, PPARG activation promoted cell apoptosis, inhibited cell migration and proliferation, and reduced Six2 expression. Mechanistically, overexpressing Six2 downregulated E-cadherin expression and cell apoptosis, but PPARG activation reversed those effects. Taken together, PPARG promotes apoptosis and suppresses the migration and proliferation of ccRCC cells by inhibiting Six2. These findings reveal that the PPARG/Six2 axis acts as a central pathobiological mediator of ccRCC formation and as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of patients with ccRCC.
Keywords: E-cadherin; apoptosis; ccRCC; proliferation.