Abstract
Renal cancer incidence has been increasing across the world, clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) represents the major subtype of renal cancer. The proteasome is involved in onset, metabolism and survival of tumor and has been recognized as a therapeutic target for various malignancies, while the role of β subunits of proteasome, PSMB gene family, in ccRCC has not been fully unveiled. Herein we investigated the expression and the prognostic role of PSMBs in ccRCC by analyzing a series of databases, including ONCOMINE, UALCAN, cBioPortal, STRING, GEPIA, GO and KEGG. Over-expressions of PSMB1/2/4/7/8/9/10 mRNA were found in ccRCC tissues compared to normal tissues, transcriptional levels of PSMB2/3/4/6/8/9/10 were significantly positively associated with patients' individual cancer stages and grades. Similar or higher levels of proteins encoded by PSMB1/2/3/7/8/9/10 were observed in tumor tissues compared to normal renal tissues. Further, high mRNA levels of PSMB1/2/3/4/6/10 were correlated with shorter overall survival in univariate analysis. Taken together, the results of our analysis implied that overexpression of PSMB1/2/3/4/6/8/9/10 were indicative of worse prognosis of ccRCC. However, further researches were required to validate our findings.