AUTHOR=Cui Wanmeng , Luo Wenqi , Zhou Xiaohui , Lu Yunliang , Xu Wenqing , Zhong Suhua , Feng Guofei , Liang Yushan , Liang Libin , Mo Yingxi , Xiao Xue , Huang Guangwu , Matskova Liudmila , Zhang Zhe , Li Ping , Zhou Xiaoying TITLE=Dysregulation of Ketone Body Metabolism Is Associated With Poor Prognosis for Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Patients JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology VOLUME=9 YEAR=2019 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2019.01422 DOI=10.3389/fonc.2019.01422 ISSN=2234-943X ABSTRACT=

Kidney is an important organ for ketone body metabolism. However, the role of abnormal ketone metabolism and its possible function in tumorigenesis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) have not yet been elucidated. Three differentially expressed key enzymes involved in ketone body metabolism, ACAT1, BDH2, and HMGCL, were screened out between ccRCC and normal kidney tissues using the GEO and TCGA databases.We confirmed that the transcription and protein expression of ACAT1, BDH2, and HMGCL were significantly lower in ccRCC by real-time RT-PCR and IHC assays. Those patients with lower expression of these three genes have a worse outcome. In addition, we demonstrated that ectopic expression of each of these genes inhibited the proliferation of ccRCC cells. The overexpressed ACAT1 and BDH2 genes remarkably impeded the migratory and invasive capacity of ccRCC cells. Furthermore, exogenous β-hydroxybutyrate suppressed the growth of ccRCC cells in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. Our findings suggest that ACAT1, BDH2, and HMGCL are potential tumor suppressor genes, and constitute effective prognostic biomarkers for ccRCC. Ketone body metabolism might thus be a promising target in a process for developing novel therapeutic approaches to treat ccRCC.