Fig 2: Caki-1 (a) and A-498 (b) cells were treated with the SLC6A3 inhibitor sertraline at 12.5 μM, 25 μM and 50 μM; cell proliferation decreased in a dose-dependent manner

Fig 3: Western blot experiments were performed to determine the protein expression in eight corresponding normal (N) and clear cell renal cell carcinoma (T) tissue. NPTX2 was increased in tumor tissue, whereas FXYD4, KNG1, SLC12A1 and SLC6A3 were decreased in tumors. NDUF4AL2 levels were similar, but the bands were of different size in tumor and normal samples

Fig 4: a SLC6A3 expression was determined using immunohistochemistry in renal tissues; a representative image showing SLC6A3 immunohistochemical staining in ccRCC and normal renal tissue is shown. b The Boxplot diagram demonstrates the distribution of SLC6A3 expression in renal tissues: Nuclear, cytoplasmic and especially luminal-membranous SLC6A3 expression was high in proximal tubules (PT), whereas it was moderate in the distal tubules (DT) and clear cell renal cell carcinoma tissue (ccRCC); it was only weakly expressed in the loop of Henle (LoH). c SLC6A3 expression in tumor cells was predictive for progression-free survival: the period of progression-free survival was shorter in patients with SLC6A3 levels above the mean as shown in the Kaplan Meier estimates