Detection of transcript for brain-type fatty acid-binding protein in tumor and urine of patients with renal cell carcinoma

OBJECTIVES To clarify the gene expression patterns of fatty acid-binding protein (FABP) and evaluate it as a potential marker for the diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). RCC is the most common renal neoplasm. METHODS The expression of eight FABP genes in normal human tissues, tumor cell lines, and surgically resected RCC tissues (n = 54) was evaluated by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Additionally, the gene expression of FABPs in the urine of healthy volunteers (n = 12) and patients with RCC (n = 5) was investigated. RESULTS In these results, the carcinoma tissues but not the noncancerous (normal) parts of the kidney samples resected from patients with RCC expressed the transcript for brain-type FABP (B-FABP), indicating that expression of the B-FABP gene is a novel' marker for RCC. Furthermore, the B-FABP cDNA fragment was not amplified by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in the urine samples of healthy donors or patients with RCC after surgical operation. However, B-FABP cDNA was amplified in the patients' urine samples collected before surgery. CONCLUSIONS This novel method can be used as a powerful ancillary in the diagnosis of RCC.