Ectopic expression of wnt-5a in human renal cell carcinoma cells suppresses in vitro growth and telomerase activity.

Loss of genes located on chromosome 3p has been reported in many different types of human cancers, including renal cell carcinoma. Previous studies using a nontumorigenic human renal cell carcinoma cell line (RCC23) established from a stage III nonpapillary carcinoma with a loss of heterozygosity on 3p showed that microcell hybrids containing an introduced intact chromosome 3 resulted in a more differentiated phenotype including restored cellular senescence and repression of telomerase activity. Human wnt-5a has been cloned and mapped to chromosome 3p14-21. We have stably transfected human wnt-5a into RCC23 cells which results in in vitro growth suppression and repression of telomerase activity in a manner similar to that found in microcell hybrids containing an introduced intact chromosome 3.