Contribution of proteomics to the molecular analysis of renal cell carcinoma with an emphasis on manganese superoxide dismutase

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) originates in the renal cortex. It accounts for 2-3 percent of all cancers occuring in adults and it is characterised by la ck of early clinical manifestations, unpredictable outcome, and absence of effective treatment modalities except early surgery. RCC comprises a hetero geneous group of tumours with various molecular and cytogenetic abnormaliti es and different histological features as cell types and tumour architectur e. Molecular genetic and proteomic tools led to the discovery of potential diagnostic prognostic and therapeutic biomarkers of RCC. In this review we discuss recent developments in understanding genotype-phenotype relationshi ps, with attention to manganese superoxide dismutase, a mitochondrial enzym e related to the redox cycle which affects various regulatory functions of cells. The expression of this protein has been evaluated in numerous human tumour types including RCC, and post-translational modifications are being investigated.