Renal cell carcinoma deep sequencing: recent developments.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common type of renal cancer in adults. RCC is notoriously resistant to current therapies suggesting the need to improve our knowledge and create more effective therapies. The molecular genetic defects that occur in RCC are extensive and complex ranging from single DNA changes, to large chromosomal defects, to signature disruptions in the transcription of hundreds of genes. These changes are often shared within each histological RCC subtype, illustrating their significance to the disease phenotype. This review presents an overview of the genetic abnormalities that occur within the most common subtypes of RCC. We discuss the recent molecular findings that have advanced our understanding of the somatic architecture of renal tumors and their impact on disease therapeutics.

The tumor suppressor parafibromin is required for posttranscriptional processing of histone mRNA.

Parafibromin, encoded by the gene HRPT2, is a tumor suppressor protein associated with the RNA polymerase II-associated complex, Paf1 complex. HRPT2 mutations were first identified in patients with the multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome, hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor (HPT-JT) syndrome, and have also been found in sporadic parathyroid and renal tumors. However, the mechanisms by which parafibromin suppresses tumor formation remain unknown. In this study, we identify a novel role of parafibromin in the regulation of replication-dependent histones. Both in vitro and in vivo analyses reveal a posttranscriptional role of parafibromin in histone mRNA processing. Downregulation of parafibromin through RNA interference or in vivo mutations lead to uncleaved histone mRNA with polyadenylated tails. These results indicate that parafibromin regulates the 3' processing of histone RNA, an essential component of the cell cycle.