Receptors for advanced glycation end products is associated with autophagy in the clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Background: The receptor for advanced glycation end-product (RAGE) was one of the signal transduction receptors. RAGE interacted with various signaling molecules which were involved in human disease processes including tumorigenesis. Previous reports have indicated that RAGE/high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) could regulate autophagy in different carcinomas. However, the functional role of RAGE/ HMGB1 in the regulation of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) autophagy remained unrevealed. Methods: Western blot, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunofluorescence were used in the present study. Results: In this study, we demonstrated that the levels of RAGE/HMGB1 and autophagic protein LC3, Beclin-1, PI3K were much higher in ccRCC samples than those of in adjacent normal tissues. RAGE and autophagic protein expression was regulated with RAGE/HMGB1 in human RCC cell lines. Conclusion: Our results implicated that RAGE and autophagy played important roles in ccRCC, and RAGE/HMGB1 might serve as a novel therapeutic target for future ccRCC treatment.