Retinoblastoma binding protein 6 (RBBP6) is a nuclear protein, previously implicated in the regulation of cell cycle and apoptosis. The human RBBP6 gene codes for three protein isoforms and isoform 3 consists of the domain with no name domain only whilst the other two isoforms, 1 and 2 comprise of additional zinc, RING, retinoblastoma and p53 binding domains. In this study, the localization of RBBP6 using RBBP6 variant 3 mRNA-specific probe was performed to investigate the expression levels of the gene in different tumours and find a link between RBBP6 and human carcinogenesis. Using FISH, real-time PCR and Western blotting analysis our results show that RBBP6 isoform 3 is down-regulated in human cancers. RBBP6 isoform 3 knock-down resulted in reduced G2/M cell cycle arrest whilst its over-expression resulted in increased G2/M cell cycle arrest using propidium iodide DNA staining. The results further demonstrate that the RBBP6 isoform 3 may be the cell cycle regulator and involved in mitotic apoptosis not the isoform 1 as previously reported for mice. In conclusion, these findings suggest that RBBP6 isoform 3 is a cell cycle regulator and may be de-regulated in carcinogenesis.

TSPO is a receptor involved in the regulation of cellular proliferation, apoptosis and mitochondrial functions. Previous studies showed that the expression of TSPO protein correlated positively with tumour malignancy and negatively with patient survival. The aim of this study was to determine the transcription of Tspo mRNA in various types of normal and cancer tissues. In situ hybridization was performed to localise the Tspo mRNA in various human normal and cancer tissues. The relative level of Tspo mRNA was quantified using fluorescent intensity and visual estimation of colorimetric staining. RT-PCR was used to confirm these mRNA levels in normal lung, lung cancer, liver cancer, and cervical cancer cell lines. There was a significant increase in the level of transcription in liver, prostate, kidney, and brain cancers while a significant decrease was observed in cancers of the colon and lung. Quantitative RT-PCR confirmed that the mRNA levels of Tspo are higher in a normal lung cell line than in a lung cancer cell line. An increase in the expression levels of Tspo mRNA is not necessarily a good diagnostic biomarker in most cancers with changes not being large enough to be significantly different when detected by in situ hybridisation.

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNAs that regulate pathophysiological processes that suppress gene expression by binding to messenger RNAs. These biomolecules can be used to study gene regulation and protein expression, which will allow better understanding of many biological processes such as cell cycle progression and apoptosis that control the fate of cells. Several pathways have also been implicated to be involved in kidney diseases such as Transforming Growth Factor-β, Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase signaling, and Wnt signaling pathways. The discovery of miRNAs has provided new insights into kidney pathologies and may provide new innovative and effective therapeutic strategies. Research has demonstrated the role of miRNAs in a variety of kidney diseases including renal cell carcinoma, diabetic nephropathy, nephritic syndrome, renal fibrosis, lupus nephritis and acute pyelonephritis. MiRNAs are implicated as playing a role in these diseases due to their role in apoptosis, cell proliferation, differentiation and development. As miRNAs have been detected in a stable condition in different biological fluids, they have the potential to be tools to study the pathogenesis of human diseases with a great potential to be used in disease prognosis and diagnosis. The purpose of this review is to examine the role of miRNA in kidney disease.

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