Restored expression levels of TET1 decrease the proliferation and migration of renal carcinoma cells

Renal carcinoma is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults and is responsible for ~90–95% of the cases of kidney cancer. Ten-eleven translocation methylcytosine dioxygenase 1 (TET1) is a member of the TET family of enzymes, and is expressed at low levels in multiple malignancies. In the present study, a series of experiments were designed and performed to investigate whether the expression of TET1 is clinically correlated with clinical outcomes in renal carcinoma, and to examine the associations between TET1 expression level and the proliferation and migration in renal carcinoma cells. As a result, TET1 was observed to exhibit markedly low expression levels in 54 tumor tissue samples from 54 patients with renal carcinoma. Furthermore, statistical analysis revealed a clinical correlation between low expression levels of TET1 and the prognosis of patients with renal carcinoma. When TET1 was overexpressed in renal carcinoma cells, the viability and invasive abilities of the cells were decreased, and the rate of apoptosis was increased. In conclusion, the results demonstrated that TET1 is involved in tumor inhibition in renal carcinoma by promoting cell apoptosis and inhibiting cell proliferation and invasion, which may be exploited as a novel therapeutic target in the treatment of renal carcinoma.