Heterozygous germ line hCHK2 mutations in Li-Fraumeni syndrome

The hCHK2 gene encodes the human homolog of the yeast Cds1 and Rad53 G2 checkpoint kinases, whose activation in response to DNA damage prevents cellular entry into mitosis. Here, it is shown that heterozygous germ line mutations in hCHK2 occur in Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a highly penetrant familial cancer phenotype usually associated with inherited mutations in the TP53 gene. These observations suggest that hCHK2 is a tumor suppressor gene conferring predisposition to sarcoma, breast cancer, and brain tumors, and they also provide a link between the central role of p53 inactivation in human cancer and the well-defined G2 checkpoint in yeast.     

Identification of p53 gene mutations in bladder cancers and urine samples

Although bladder cancers are very common, little is known about their molecular pathogenesis. In this study, invasive bladder cancers were evaluated for the presence of gene mutations in the p53 suppressor gene. Of 18 tumors evaluated, 11 (61 percent) were found to have genetic alterations of p53. The alterations included ten point mutations resulting in single amino acid substitutions, and one 24-base pair deletion. In all but one case, the mutations were associated with chromosome 17p allelic deletions, leaving the cells with only mutant forms of the p53 gene products. Through the use of the polymerase chain reaction and oligomer-specific hybridization, p53 mutations were identified in 1 to 7 percent of the cells within the urine sediment of each of three patients tested. The p53 mutations are the first genetic alterations demonstrated to occur in a high proportion of primary invasive bladder cancers. Detection of such mutations ex vivo has clinical implications for monitoring individuals whose tumor cells are shed extracorporeally.     

Chromosome 17 deletions and p53 gene mutations in colorectal carcinomas

Previous studies have demonstrated that allelic deletions of the short arm of chromosome 17 occur in over 75% of colorectal carcinomas. Twenty chromosome 17p markers were used to localize the common region of deletion in these tumors to a region contained within bands 17p12 to 17p13.3. This region contains the gene for the transformation-associated protein p53. Southern and Northern blot hybridization experiments provided no evidence for gross alterations of the p53 gene or surrounding sequences. As a more rigorous test of the possibility that p53 was a target of the deletions, the p53 coding regions from two tumors were analyzed; these two tumors, like most colorectal carcinomas, had allelic deletions of chromosome 17p and expressed considerable amounts of p53 messenger RNA from the remaining allele. The remaining p53 allele was mutated in both tumors, with an alanine substituted for valine at codon 143 of one tumor and a histidine substituted for arginine at codon 175 of the second tumor. Both mutations occurred in a highly conserved region of the p53 gene that was previously found to be mutated in murine p53 oncogenes. The data suggest that p53 gene mutations may be involved in colorectal neoplasia, perhaps through inactivation of a tumor suppressor function of the wild-type p53 gene.     

Mutation affecting the 12th amino acid of the c-Ha-ras oncogene product occurs infrequently in human cancer

A point mutation alters the 12th amino acid of the c-Ha-ras oncogene product p21 in a human bladder cancer cell line. This is, at present, the only mutation known to result in a human transforming gene. This mutation may therefore represent a possible target for mutagenesis leading to carcinogenesis in humans. By means of restriction enzyme analysis, 29 human cancers, including 20 primary tumor tissues, derived from organs commonly exposed to environmental carcinogens, were tested for the presence of this mutation. None of ten primary bladder carcinomas exhibited the mutation; nor did nine colon carcinomas or ten carcinomas of the lung. Thus the point mutation affecting the 12th amino acid of the c-Ha-ras gene product, while a valuable model for carcinogenesis, does not appear to play a role in the development of most human epithelial cancers of the bladder, colon, or lung.     

Mutational analysis of the tyrosine phosphatome in colorectal cancers

Tyrosine phosphorylation, regulated by protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) and kinases (PTKs), is important in signaling pathways underlying tumorigenesis. A mutational analysis of the tyrosine phosphatase gene superfamily in human cancers identified 83 somatic mutations in six PTPs (PTPRF, PTPRG, PTPRT, PTPN3, PTPN13, PTPN14), affecting 26% of colorectal cancers and a smaller fraction of lung, breast, and gastric cancers. Fifteen mutations were nonsense, frameshift, or splice-site alterations predicted to result in truncated proteins lacking phosphatase activity. Five missense mutations in the most commonly altered PTP (PTPRT) were biochemically examined and found to reduce phosphatase activity. Expression of wild-type but not a mutant PTPRT in human cancer cells inhibited cell growth. These observations suggest that the mutated tyrosine phosphatases are tumor suppressor genes, regulating cellular pathways that may be amenable to therapeutic intervention.     

Mutations that increase the life span of C. elegans inhibit tumor growth

Mutations in gld-1 cause lethal germline tumors in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We find that a wide variety of mutations that extend C. elegans' life span confer resistance to these tumors. The long life spans of daf-2/insulin-receptor mutants were not shortened at all by gld-1 mutations; we attribute this finding to decreased cell division and increased DAF-16/p53-dependent apoptosis within the tumors. Mutations that increase life span by restricting food intake or inhibiting respiration did not affect apoptosis but reduced tumor cell division. Unexpectedly, none of these longevity mutations affected mitosis in normal germlines; this finding suggests that cellular changes that lead to longevity preferentially antagonize tumor cell growth.     

Prevention of Brca1-mediated mammary tumorigenesis in mice by a progesterone antagonist

Women with mutations in the breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1 are predisposed to breast and ovarian cancers. Why the BRCA1 protein suppresses tumor development specifically in ovarian hormone-sensitive tissues remains unclear. We demonstrate that mammary glands of nulliparous Brca1/p53-deficient mice accumulate lateral branches and undergo extensive alveologenesis, a phenotype that occurs only during pregnancy in wild-type mice. Progesterone receptors, but not estrogen receptors, are overexpressed in the mutant mammary epithelial cells because of a defect in their degradation by the proteasome pathway. Treatment of Brca1/p53-deficient mice with the progesterone antagonist mifepristone (RU 486) prevented mammary tumorigenesis. These findings reveal a tissue-specific function for the BRCA1 protein and raise the possibility that antiprogesterone treatment may be useful for breast cancer prevention in individuals with BRCA1 mutations.     

Germ line p53 mutations in a familial syndrome of breast cancer, sarcomas, and other neoplasms

Familial cancer syndromes have helped to define the role of tumor suppressor genes in the development of cancer. The dominantly inherited Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS) is of particular interest because of the diversity of childhood and adult tumors that occur in affected individuals. The rarity and high mortality of LFS precluded formal linkage analysis. The alternative approach was to select the most plausible candidate gene. The tumor suppressor gene, p53, was studied because of previous indications that this gene is inactivated in the sporadic (nonfamilial) forms of most cancers that are associated with LFS. Germ line p53 mutations have been detected in all five LFS families analyzed. These mutations do not produce amounts of mutant p53 protein expected to exert a trans-dominant loss of function effect on wild-type p53 protein. The frequency of germ line p53 mutations can now be examined in additional families with LFS, and in other cancer patients and families with clinical features that might be attributed to the mutation.     

Mouse tumor model for neurofibromatosis type 1

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by increased incidence of benign and malignant tumors of neural crest origin. Mutations that activate the protooncogene ras, such as loss of Nf1, cooperate with inactivating mutations at the p53 tumor suppressor gene during malignant transformation. One hundred percent of mice harboring null Nf1 and p53 alleles in cis synergize to develop soft tissue sarcomas between 3 and 7 months of age. These sarcomas exhibit loss of heterozygosity at both gene loci and express phenotypic traits characteristic of neural crest derivatives and human NF1 malignancies.     

Two G protein oncogenes in human endocrine tumors

Somatic mutations in a subset of growth hormone (GH)-secreting pituitary tumors convert the gene for the alpha polypeptide chain (alpha s) of Gs into a putative oncogene, termed gsp. These mutations, which activate alpha s by inhibiting its guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) activity, are found in codons for either of two amino acids, each of which is completely conserved in all known G protein alpha chains. The likelihood that similar mutations would activate other G proteins prompted a survey of human tumors for mutations that replace either of these two amino acids in other G protein alpha chain genes. The first gene so far tested, which encodes the alpha chain of Gi2, showed mutations that replaced arginine-179 with either cysteine or histidine in 3 of 11 tumors of the adrenal cortex and 3 of 10 endocrine tumors of the ovary. The mutant alpha i2 gene is a putative oncogene, referred to as gip2. In addition, gsp mutations were found in 18 of 42 GH-secreting pituitary tumors and in an autonomously functioning thyroid adenoma. These findings suggest that human tumors may harbor oncogenic mutations in various G protein alpha chain genes.     

Evidence for a high frequency of simultaneous double-nucleotide substitutions

Point mutations are generally assumed to involve changes of single nucleotides. Nevertheless, the nature and known mechanisms of mutation do not exclude the possibility that several adjacent nucleotides may change simultaneously in a single mutational event. Two independent approaches are used here to estimate the frequency of simultaneous double-nucleotide substitutions. The first examines switches between TCN and AGY (where N is any nucleotide and Y is a pyrimidine) codons encoding absolutely conserved serine residues in a number of proteins from diverse organisms. The second reveals double-nucleotide substitutions in primate noncoding sequences. These two complementary approaches provide similar high estimates for the rate of doublet substitutions, on the order of 0.1 per site per billion years.     

Facile detection of mitochondrial DNA mutations in tumors and bodily fluids

Examination of human bladder, head and neck, and lung primary tumors revealed a high frequency of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations. The majority of these somatic mutations were homoplasmic in nature, indicating that the mutant mtDNA became dominant in tumor cells. The mutated mtDNA was readily detectable in paired bodily fluids from each type of cancer and was 19 to 220 times as abundant as mutated nuclear p53 DNA. By virtue of their clonal nature and high copy number, mitochondrial mutations may provide a powerful molecular marker for noninvasive detection of cancer.     

p53、C-erbB-2、nm23基因及雌孕激素受体在乳腺癌组织中的表达及其临床意义

目的：观察雌激素受体(ER)、孕激素受体(PR)和p53、C—erbB—2、nm23基因在乳腺癌组织中的表达并探讨其临床意义。方法：应用免疫组化S—P法．对96例乳腺癌组织进行了ER、PR、p53、C—erbB—2、nm23检测，结合临床表现及随访结果作统计学分析。结果：ER、PR、p53、C—erbB-2、nm23阳性表达率分别为52.1％、47．9％、46.9％、62．5％、70.8％。浸润型乳腺癌组织C—erbB-2阳性表达明显高于非浸润型(P＜0．01)；ER、PR 、p53、nm23阳性表达与病理类型无关(P＞0．05)。有淋巴结转移组P53、C—erbB-2的阳性表达率明显高于无淋巴结转移组。有淋巴结转移组nm23的阳性表达率显著低干无淋巴结转移组。差异均有非常显著性(P＜0．01)；而ER、PR的阳性表达率与淋巴结转移与否无关(P＞0．05)。ER和(或)PR、nm23阳性组乳腺癌复发率明显低于阴性组(P＜0．05)，而p53、C—erbB—2阳性组乳腺癌复发率明显高于阴性组(P＜0．05)。结论：检测乳腺癌组织中的ER、PR及p53、C—erbB-2、nm23基因对评价乳腺癌患者的预后有重要价值。     

Identification of p53 as a sequence-specific DNA-binding protein

The tumor-suppressor gene p53 is altered by missense mutation in numerous human malignancies. However, the biochemical properties of p53 and the effect of mutation on these properties are unclear. A human DNA sequence was identified that binds specifically to wild-type human p53 protein in vitro. As few as 33 base pairs were sufficient to confer specific binding. Certain guanines within this 33-base pair region were critical, as methylation of these guanines or their substitution with thymine-abrogated binding. Human p53 proteins containing either of two missense mutations commonly found in human tumors were unable to bind significantly to this sequence. These data suggest that a function of p53 may be mediated by its ability to bind to specific DNA sequences in the human genome, and that this activity is altered by mutations that occur in human tumors.     

甲状腺肿瘤中p53、bcl-2及c-myc蛋白的表达

目的 :探讨p5 3、bcl 2和c myc蛋白在甲状腺肿瘤中的表达意义。 方法 :应用免疫组化EnvisionTM法对 73例甲状腺肿瘤中 p5 3、bcl 2和c myc蛋白的表达进行检测。 结果 :3 6例腺瘤中 p5 3、bcl 2和c myc蛋白的阳性表达率分别为 :0 0 %( 0 / 3 6)、88.6%( 3 2 / 3 6)和 5 0 .0 %( 18/ 3 6) ;3 7例腺癌则分别为 :2 1.6%( 8/ 3 7)、64 .9%( 2 4/ 3 7)和 89.2 %( 3 3 / 3 7) ;p5 3、bcl 2、c myc蛋白分别在 3 6例腺瘤与 3 7例腺癌之间比较差异均有显著性 (P <0 .0 5或P <0 .0 1)。p5 3蛋白阳性表达的腺癌 8例 ,其bc1 2及c myc蛋白阳性表达率分别为 75 .0 %( 6/ 8)和 10 0 %( 8/ 8) ,在腺癌中 p5 3蛋白表达与bcl 2蛋白表达仅呈低度正相关 (r =0 .3 5 1,P <0 .0 5 )。 5例淋巴结转移性甲状腺癌中p5 3蛋白阳性表达率为 60 0 %( 3 / 5 ) ,但均无bc1 2蛋白阳性表达。结论 :p5 3、bcl 2及c myc蛋白可能共同参与甲状腺癌的发生发展 ;检测 p5 3蛋白有助于甲状腺良恶性肿瘤的鉴别     

An oncogene-induced DNA damage model for cancer development

Of all types of DNA damage, DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) pose the greatest challenge to cells. One might have, therefore, anticipated that a sizable number of DNA DSBs would be incompatible with cell proliferation. Yet recent experimental findings suggest that, in both precancerous lesions and cancers, activated oncogenes induce stalling and collapse of DNA replication forks, which in turn leads to formation of DNA DSBs. This continuous formation of DNA DSBs may contribute to the genomic instability that characterizes the vast majority of human cancers. In addition, in precancerous lesions, these DNA DSBs activate p53, which, by inducing apoptosis or senescence, raises a barrier to tumor progression. Breach of this barrier by various mechanisms, most notably by p53 mutations, that impair the DNA damage response pathway allows cancers to develop. Thus, oncogene-induced DNA damage may explain two key features of cancer: genomic instability and the high frequency of p53 mutations.     

Effect of p53 status on tumor response to antiangiogenic therapy

The p53 tumor suppressor gene is inactivated in the majority of human cancers. Tumor cells deficient in p53 display a diminished rate of apoptosis under hypoxic conditions, a circumstance that might reduce their reliance on vascular supply, and hence their responsiveness to antiangiogenic therapy. Here, we report that mice bearing tumors derived from p53(-/-) HCT116 human colorectal cancer cells were less responsive to antiangiogenic combination therapy than mice bearing isogenic p53(+/+) tumors. Thus, although antiangiogenic therapy targets genetically stable endothelial cells in the tumor vasculature, genetic alterations that decrease the vascular dependence of tumor cells can influence the therapeutic response of tumors to this therapy.     

p53: a frequent target for genetic abnormalities in lung cancer

Allele loss is a hallmark of chromosome regions harboring recessive oncogenes. Lung cancer frequently demonstrates loss of heterozygosity on 17p. Recent evidence suggests that the p53 gene located on 17p13 has many features of such an antioncogene. The p53 gene was frequently mutated or inactivated in all types of human lung cancer. The genetic abnormalities of p53 include gross changes such as homozygous deletions and abnormally sized messenger RNAs along with a variety of point or small mutations, which map to the p53 open reading frame and change amino acid sequence in a region highly conserved between mouse and man. In addition, very low or absent expression of p53 messenger RNA in lung cancer cell lines compared to normal lung was seen. These findings, coupled with the previous demonstration of 17p allele loss in lung cancer, strongly implicate p53 as an anti-oncogene whose disruption is involved in the pathogenesis of human lung cancer.     

突变型抑癌基因p53在鸡马立克氏病肿瘤组织中的表达研究

[目的]探讨抑癌基因p53在鸡马立克氏病的发生与发展中的作用和意义。[方法]采用免疫组织化学和细胞化学技术,观察抑癌基因p53在鸡马立克氏病肿瘤组织及体外培养感染马立克病毒的鸡胚成纤维细胞中的表达。[结果]在体外培养的鸡胚成纤维细胞(CEF)感染马立克氏病毒后,感染的CEF呈阳性。在马立克氏病的发生过程中,突变型抑癌基因p53在病鸡的肝脏、肾脏、肿瘤、心脏、脾脏、肺脏、胸腺及法氏囊中均可检出中等量的表达。p53发生突变时所产生的p53蛋白突变体的半衰期比未发生突变时要长。[结论]突变型p53基因具有直接转化细胞和阻碍野生型p53发挥作用的特点,致使突变的DNA得以积累,最终导致癌变的发生。