S100A12 and RAGE Expression in Human Bladder Transitional Cell Carcinoma: a Role for the Ligand/RAGE Axis in Tumor Progression?

Background: Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) and prostate cancer are the most frequent cancers in themale genitourinary tract. Measurement of biological biomarkers may facilitate clinical monitoring and aidearly diagnosis of TCC. The aim of the present investigation was to detect the mRNA levels of S100A12 andRAGE (receptor for advanced glycation end products) in patients suffering from bladder TCC. Materials and
Methods: To explore the involvement of S100A12 and RAGE genes, total RNA was harvested from cancertissues and samples obtained from normal non-tumorized urothelium of the same patients. Quantitative PCR(qPCR) was subsequently employed to determine the mRNA levels of S100A12 and RAGE.
Results: The resultsshowed that mRNA expression of S100A12 and RAGE was significantly up-regulated in the cancer tissue.
Conclusions: According to the results presented in the current study, mRNA expression of S100A12 and RAGEmight be as a useful biomarker for TCC. Therefore, this ligand-receptor axis possibly plays important roles inthe development of TCC and may serve either as an early diagnostic marker or as a key factor in monitoring ofresponse to treatment. More research is required concerning inhibition of the S100A12-RAGE axis in differentcancer models.