CDC20 Regulates the Progression of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma via the Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway.

OBJECTIVE

To detect the expression level of cell division cycle 20 homolog (CDC20) in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and to study the biological function of CDC20 in ccRCC.

METHODS

CDC20 expression levels and clinical significance of ccRCC were determined using the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. We detected the expression level of CDC20 in ccRCC with the help of immunohistochemistry (IHC). The effect of CDC20 on the proliferation of renal cancer cells was investigated using EDU and CCK-8 proliferation assays. We used wound healing assays and Transwell assays to determine the effects of CDC20 on renal cancer cell migration and invasion and Wnt signaling pathway agonists in recovery experiments. The mechanism of CDC20 in ccRCC was detected using western blotting. Finally, the effect of CDC20 on renal cancer cells was verified in vivo in a nude mouse xenograft model.

RESULTS

Bioinformatics analysis found that CDC20 was upregulated in ccRCC, and its high expression was associated with poor prognosis in kidney renal cell carcinoma (KIRC) patients. In addition, we detected high expression of CDC20 in KIRC tissues, consistent with the results of bioinformatics analysis. Besides, knockdown of CDC20 can inhibit the biological functions of renal cancer cells. The recovery experiment proved that the biological function of the originally inhibited renal cancer cells was restored. In vivo, low expression of CDC20 can inhibit tumor growth.

CONCLUSIONS

As CDC20 is highly expressed in KIRC tissues, it can be used as both a therapeutic target and a prognostic marker.