The oncogene MYBL2 promotes the malignant phenotype and suppresses apoptosis through hedgehog signaling pathway in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Multiple cancers have been associated with MYB-related protein B (MYBL2), its involvement in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) has yet to be demonstrated. Our study revealed a significant upregulation of MYBL2 in ccRCC tissues, correlating with clinicopathological features and patient prognosis. Increased MYBL2 expression promoted cell proliferation and suppressed apoptosis. RNA-seq analysis unveiled a reduction in smoothened (SMO) expression upon MYBL2 silencing. However, luciferase and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays demonstrated MYBL2's positive regulation of SMO expression by directly targeting the SMO promoter. Reintroduction of SMO expression in MYBL2-knocked down cells partially restored cell proliferation and mitigated apoptosis inhibition. Overall, these results indicate that MYBL2 facilitates ccRCC progression by enhancing SMO expression, suggesting its potential as an intriguing drug target for ccRCC therapy. •Enhanced MYBL2 levels are linked to advanced progression in ccRCC patients.•MYBL2 accelerates the proliferation and suppresses apoptosis of ccRCC cells.•MYBL2 regulated the HH signaling pathway.•SMO can partially restore the malignancy traits of MYBL2-inhibited cells.