Generation of autochthonous mouse models of clear cell renal cell carcinoma: mouse models of renal cell carcinoma

• Main Authors: Weibin Hou, Zhigang Ji
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2018-04-01
• Series: Experimental and Molecular Medicine
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s12276-018-0059-4

Kidney cancer: developing useful mouse models Genetically engineered mouse models allow more detailed understanding of kidney cancers, say researchers in China. Current treatments for clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), a common form of kidney cancer, are limited, and mouse models can help by revealing how tumors are initiated and progress. Zhigang Ji and Weibin Hou at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing reviewed recent progress in ccRCC mouse models. In contrast to the longtime stagnation of only being able to produce ccRCC-like cell structures and cystic lesions, researchers recently have successfully produced true ccRCCs in mice by deactivating tumor suppressor genes, overexpressing oncogenic genes, or enhancing signaling pathways, in various combinations. Hou and Ji suggest that these exciting ccRCC mouse models could be especially useful for the investigation of the emerging immunotherapy for ccRCC.