Mutation analysis in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 1 (CMT1).
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BACKGROUND: Patients with head and neck cancer are at high risk of developing additional primary tumours in the aerodigestive tract as a result of field cancerization phenomena. In this context, the appearance of a new neoplasm often poses a problem of differential diagnosis between recurrence and new primary tumour. The differentiation between the two entities in essentially clinical and conventionally based on the histological and spatio-temporal relations between the two lesions; however, the validity of these criteria has still to be assessed. DESIGN: To evaluate whether field cancerization phenomena may affect the clinical diagnosis of relapse/metastasis in the head and neck region, p53 mutation pattern was analysed in a series of primary tumours and corresponding recurrences/metastases. The rationale was that, since p53 mutations are a very early and polymorphic phenomenon, a recurrence/metastasis must retain the same mutation as the the primary tumour, whereas independent tumours are likely to display a different p53 gene status. RESULTS: Molecular analysis provided conclusive results in 9 of 12 cases analysed. The clinical diagnosis of recurrence was confirmed by molecular analysis in 4 of these cases. In contrast, a differential p53 mutation pattern supported an independent origin for 3 presumed local recurrences and 2 lung lesions. CONCLUSIONS: The use of p53 mutation analysis as a clonality marker allowed us to ascertain the inadequacy of the current diagnostic criteria for the differentiation between a new independent tumour and recurrence/metastasis. These findings substantiate the relevance of field cancerization phenomena in the head and neck region and prompt the use of p53 mutation analysis as a fundamental tool to improve the diagnosis and management of head and neck cancers.
BACKGROUND: CARD15 gene mutations have been demonstrated to confer a high risk of Crohn's disease (CD). Despite this, recent studies reported variable associations between CD and CARD15 mutations in distinct ethnic groups, thus raising the hypothesis that genetic and/or allelic heterogeneity may influence the relationship between CARD15 and CD. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency of the main mutations of the CARD15 gene (Leu 1007fsinsC, Arg702Trp, and Gly908Arg) in Italian CD patients and to establish possible genotype-phenotype correlations. METHODS: One hundred sixty-five CD patients and 125 healthy subjects were consecutively enrolled from January to November 2001. The Leu1007fsinsC mutation was assessed by denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography and Arg702Trp and Gly908Arg mutations by Pyrosequencing technology. RESULTS: Among the CARD15 gene mutations tested, only the Leu1007fsinsC was associated with CD (30/165 CD patients, 18%, versus 3/125 healthy subjects, 2.4%; p < 0.001). In particular, 23 CD patients were heterozygotes and 7 were homozygotes. No healthy subject exhibited the mutant homozygous genotype. Odds ratios for CD were 6.9 for heterozygotes and 41.0 for homozygotes. The genotype-phenotype analysis revealed that a fibrostenosing CD of the distal ileum was more frequent in patients carrying the Leu1007fsinsC mutation. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms the association between CARD15 gene mutations and CD and shows that only the Leu1007fsinsC mutation is a risk factor of CD in an Italian population.
We have performed molecular and mutation analyses on 14 unrelated Israeli Hunter families and have identified the IDS mutation in 8 of them. Three unrelated Ashkenazi patients had the same previously reported mutation (1246 C-->T). Based on the haplotypes of the mutation-bearing chromosomes, we concluded that this is a recurrent mutation. In two patients, we identified a deletion spanning exons V-VII. Three novel mutations were observed in different patients: L410P, 717de14, and 244de13. In addition, the silent mutation (562 C-->T) was observed in one patient.
Mutation of PIK3CA, the gene coding for the p110alpha catalytic subunit of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), has been reported in a limited range of human tumors. We now report that PIK3CA is also mutated in esophageal tumors. Single-strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) and denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) were used to screen all 20 exons of PIK3CA in 101 samples from 95 individuals with esophageal cancer and/or Barrett's esophagus. Somatic mutation of PIK3CA was detected in 4 of 35 (11.8%) of esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and 3 of 50 (6%) adenocarcinomas. No mutations were detected in any of 17 samples of Barrett's esophagus. For PIK3CB, we screened exons 11 and 22, which code for the regions corresponding to the exon 9 and 20 mutational 'hotspots' of PIK3CA. No somatic changes were detected in PIK3CB This study extends previous observations in other tumor types by demonstrating the presence of somatic PIK3CA mutations in both SCC and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, thus implicating the PI3K pathway in the initiation and/or progression of esophageal cancers.
45 mutations (insertion, deletion and base substitution) of the G4 Goric were tested for their functional activity in M13 and R199 in vivo. The critical mutants were also assayed for their ability to synthesize pRNA in vitro using SSB and primase. The results demonstrate that the secondary structure and spacing of stem-loops I and III are essential for Goric activity and that the 5'-CTG-3' sequence flanking stem-loop I is essential for initiation of pRNA synthesis.
INTRODUCTION: Mutations in BRCA1, BRCA2, ATM, TP53, CHK2 and PTEN account for only 20-30% of the familial aggregation of breast cancer, which suggests the involvement of additional susceptibility genes. The ATR (ataxia-telangiectasia- and Rad3-related) kinase is essential for the maintenance of genomic integrity. It functions both in parallel and cooperatively with ATM, but whereas ATM is primarily activated by DNA double-strand breaks induced by ionizing radiation, ATR has been shown to respond to a much broader range of DNA damage. Upon activation, ATR phosphorylates several important tumor suppressors, including p53, BRCA1 and CHK1. Based on its central function in the DNA damage response, ATR is a plausible candidate gene for susceptibility to cancer. METHODS: We screened the entire coding region of the ATR gene for mutations in affected index cases from 126 Finnish families with breast and/or ovarian cancer, 75 of which were classified as high-risk and 51 as moderate-risk families, by using conformation sensitive gel electrophoresis and direct sequencing. RESULTS: A large number of novel sequence variants were identified, four of which -- Glu254Gly, Ser1142Gly, IVS24-48G>A and IVS26+15C>T -- were absent from the tested control individuals (n = 300). However, the segregation of these mutations with the cancer phenotype could not be confirmed, partly because of the lack of suitable DNA samples. CONCLUSION: The present study does not support a major role for ATR mutations in hereditary susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancer.
Fragile X syndrome is usually caused by expansion of a trinucleotide (CGG) repeat in the 5'-untranslated region of the FMR1 gene. However, both deletions and point mutations in FMR1 have been identified as rare causes of the fragile X syndrome. We have screened the FMR1 gene for mutations by single-stranded conformational polymorphism analysis in 118 mentally retarded males who were referred to us for fragile X testing, and who had a CGG repeat number in the normal size range. We found one patient with a 2-bp deletion in intron 1 and two unrelated patients with identical silent mutations in exon 1. Neither of these mutations were found in 83 controls. Further investigation of the exon 1 silent mutation by Western blot analysis showed normal expression of FMRP in lymphoblastoid cells and reverse-transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that intron 1 and 2 were spliced out as in the normal control. Furthermore, we found two common polymorphisms, one in intron 1 and one in exon 5. However, no pathogenic FMR1 mutation was found.
The RET proto-oncogene codes for a receptor-type tyrosine-kinase with to date unknown ligand. Recently, germline point-mutations in RET cysteine codons of the extracellular cysteine-rich domain (encoded by exons 10 and 11) and in the tyrosine-kinase domain (encoded by exon 16) at codon 918, have been associated with the syndromes of multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) type 2A, MEN type 2B and familial medullary thyroid carcinoma (FMTC). In our recent studies we have analyzed tumor and germline DNA extracted from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens of 45 patients and additional blood samples of 38 possible MEN 2 gene carriers for the presence of RET point mutations in exons 10 and 11 by non-radioactive single strand conformation polymorphism analysis (PCR-SSCP) and for exon 16 by heteroduplex gel electrophoresis. Mutational analysis was performed by fluorescence-based dideoxy terminator cycle sequencing of PCR-products with an automated DNA sequencer. Materials included 19 patients with MEN 2A associated tumors (13 medullary thyroid carcinomas, 6 pheochromocytomas), 3 patients with MEN 2B associated medullary thyroid carcinomas and 23 patients with clinically sporadic tumors (16 medullary thyroid carcinomas, 7 phenochromocytomas). In all 19 MEN 2A patients we found RET germline point-mutations either at cysteine codons 634 (14), 630 (1) in exon 11 or at codon 618 (4) in exon 10. All 3 MEN 2B patients demonstrated germline point mutations at codon 918 (Met-->Thr) in exon 16. In 2 patients with clinically sporadic medullary thyroid carcinomas we found a point mutation at codon 634 both in DNA of the tumor and normal tissue, indicating the presence of a de novo germline mutation. In 5 sporadic medullary thyroid carcinomas and 2 pheochromocytomas we found a somatic point mutations were identified in 11 patients. Our results indicate that mutational analysis of the RET proto-oncogene is not only suitable to identify and subtype MEN 2 gene carriers using blood DNA but also to distinguish sporadic from inherited medullary thyroid carcinomas and phenochromocytomas analyzing DNA extracted from archival tissue specimens.
Rett syndrome (RTT) is an X-linked disorder caused by mutations in the methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 gene (MECP2). The incidence is 1:10,000-1:15,000 females worldwide. To date, the mutational spectrum of MECP2 in the Ukrainian population is not known. Here we present first Ukrainian girl with classic clinical signs of RTT, in whom mutation of MECP2 gene was detected. Total genomic DNA was extracted from a dry blood spot using the QIAamp DNA Mini Kit (Qiagen) according to the manufacturer's protocol. Genomic DNA was used to amplify coding sequence and exon/intron borders of MECP2 gene. Products were examined by restriction analysis and automatic direct sequencing. The sequencing analysis of our patient revealed a small deletion of 4 bases AAAG at position 856-859 in exon 4 of MECP2 gene (856-859del4). This mutation leads to a frameshift (K286fs) and a premature stop codon. The creation of premature stop codon results in synthesis of truncated MeCP2 protein. Localization of the mutation into the transcription repression domain (TRD) probably affects the function of MECP2 protein in the process of transcriptional repression. To our knowledge this is the first case from Ukraine, in whom clinical diagnosis of RTT was confirmed by mutation analysis of MECP2 gene. Mutation analyses of further patients are needed to establish the spectrum of MECP2 mutations in the Ukrainian population. (Tab. 1, Fig. 3, Ref. 22.)
OBJECTIVE: To identify the mutational genotype of three Chinese families with X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD: MIM#300100). METHODS: Total RNA was extracted from the peripheral blood leukocytes of patients 1, 2 and the mother of patient 3, using RNA blood Mini kit (QIAGEN). After reverse transcription, cDNA was amplified in four overlapping segments. The PCR products were purified and directly sequenced. To confirm the mutations, the genomic DNA was isolated from the patients and their family members using DNA blood isolation kit (MO-BIO) and analyzed by PCR-restrictive digestion or amplification refractory mutation system. RESULTS: Three distinct mutations were detected in the ABCD1 gene of the three pedigrees. A mutation of CCC-->CGC was detected at codon 534 of the ABCD1 gene from patient 1, resulting in the arginine for proline substitution. A change of GGG-->AGG was found at codon 266 of the second patient's gene, accompanied with the replacement of glycine by arginine. A mutation of CGC-->GGC was found at codon 617 in one ABCD1 allele of the third patient's mother, leading to the glycine for arginine substitution. The three mutations were confirmed through restriction analysis or amplification refractory mutation system. CONCLUSION: Three ABCD1 gene missense mutations were detected in three unrelated Chinese families with X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, one of which, the mutation (P534R), is novel in Chinese with ALD, and the other two G266R and R617G mutations, have been reported outside China.
Three mutations in the transferrin receptor-2 gene have recently been identified in four Sicilian families with iron overload who had a normal hemochromatosis gene, HFE (C. Camaschella, personal communication). To determine the extent to which mutations in the transferrin receptor-2 gene occur in other populations with iron overload, we have completely sequenced this gene in 17 whites, 10 Asians, and 8 African Americans with iron overload and a C282C/C282C HFE genotype, as well as 4 subjects without iron overload and homozygous for the mutant HFE C282Y genotype, 5 patients with iron overload and homozygous for the mutant HFE C282Y genotype, and 5 normal individuals. None of the individuals exhibited the Sicilian mutations, Y250X in exon 6, M172K in exon 4, and E60X in exon 2. One iron-overloaded individual of Asian descent exhibited a I238M mutation which was subsequently found to be a polymorphism present in the Asian population at a frequency of 0.0192. The presence of the I238M mutation was not associated with an increase in ferritin or transferrin saturation levels. Three silent polymorphisms were also identified, nt 1770 (D590D) and nt 1851 (A617A) and a polymorphism at nt 2255 in the 3' UTR. Thus, mutations in the transferrin receptor-2 gene were not responsible for the iron overload seen in our subjects.
Hunter syndrome is a rare, X-linked, recessively inherited disease affecting approximately 1 in 132,000 males. The disease is caused by the inability to degrade dermatan sulphate and heparan sulphate due to mutations in the iduronate-2-sulphatase gene (IDS). The mutations causing the disorder are heterogeneous, ranging from small micro-lesions to gross deletions and inversions. We have screened DNA samples from a panel of 24 unrelated Hunter syndrome patients and have identified mutations in 16 individuals. Six mutations represent novel changes in the gene and these include two single base deletions (1264DC and 1632/3DT); two single base insertions (776/8insC and 1082insT); and two missense mutations--Y264N (914T-->G) and Q465P (1518A-->C). An additional two missense mutations and one splice site alteration identified in this study have been described previously. Southern analysis revealed complete or partial gene deletions in a further 7 patients.
Inactivating mutations of the luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR) gene in males induce Leydig cell agenesis or hypoplasia, while activating mutations cause testotoxicosis. Recently, it was demonstrated that a somatic heterozygous activating mutation of the LHR gene (Asp578His), limited to the tumor, was the cause of Leydig cell adenomas in three unrelated patients. We describe the molecular study of two unrelated boys with gonadotropin-independent hypersecretion of testosterone due to Leydig cell adenomas. Genomic DNA was extracted from the tumor, the adjacent normal testis tissue, and blood leukocytes. Both individuals exhibited an heterozygous missense mutation, limited only to the tumor, consisting of a guanine (G) to cytosine (C) substitution at codon 578 (GAT to CAT), turning aspartic acid into histidine. The presence of the same mutation in different ethnic groups demonstrates the existence of a mutational hot spot in the LHR gene. Indeed, this mutation occurs at the conserved aspartic acid residue at amino acid 578, where a substitution by glycine is the most common mutation observed in testotoxicosis and where a substitution by tyrosine has been linked to a more severe clinical phenotype where diffuse Leydig cell hyperplasia is found. Our results confirm the fact that somatic activating mutations of gonadotropin receptors are involved in gonadal tumorigenesis.
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the mutations in the code region of Cx26 gene in Chinese hereditary nonsyndromic hearing impairment (NSHI) sufferers. METHODS: Thirty-three cases (29 cases in the families of 8 students who were picked out from the Deafness and Muteness School of Tianjin, 2 cases as control and 2 normal cases of genetic counseling) were included in this study. The blood samples were obtained to distill the DNA templates. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the code region of Cx26 gene was amplified. The mutations were screened by restriction endonucleases fingerprinting-single strand conformation polymorphism (REF-SSCP). Afterwards we inspected the polymorphous changes or mutations of these segments with DNA sequence. RESULTS: There were 30 cases with the nucleotide changes in the Cx26 code region. The rate was 90.9% (30/33). Eight kinds of mutations were found, 79G-->A, 109G-->A, 161A-->T, 235delC, 240G-->A, 341A-->G, 571T-->C and 608T-->C. 161A-->T, 240G-->A and 571T-->C were detected primarily. There were 3 cases with 235delC in 22 deafness sufferers and the rate was 13.64% (3/22). CONCLUSIONS: The 235delC of Cx26 gene is the main mutation in Chinese NSHI sufferers, and in NSHI cases many polymorphous changes exist.
Simpson-Golabi-Behmel syndrome (SGBS) is an X-linked syndrome characterized by pre- and postnatal overgrowth (gigantism), which clinically resembles the autosomal Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS). Deletions and translocations involving the glypican-3 gene ( GPC3 ) have been shown to be associated with SGBS. Occasionally, these deletions also include the glypican-4 gene ( GPC4 ). Glypicans are heparan sulfate proteoglycans which have a role in the control of cell growth and cell division. We have examined the mutational status of the GPC3 and GPC4 genes in one patient with Perlman syndrome, three patients with overgrowth without syndrome diagnosis, ten unrelated SGBS-patients and 11 BWS patients. We identified one SGBS patient with a deletion of a GPC3 exon. Six SGBS patients showed point mutations in GPC3. One frameshift, three nonsense, and one splice mutation predict a loss-of-function of the glypican-3 protein. One missense mutation, W296R, changes an amino acid that is conserved in all glypicans identified so far. A GPC3 protein that reproduces this mutation is poorly processed and fails to increase the cell surface expression of heparan sulfate, suggesting that this missense mutation is also a loss-of-function mutation. In three SGBS patients and in all non-SGBS patients, no mutations could be identified. We found three single nucleotide polymorphisms in the GPC4 gene but no evidence for loss-of-function mutations in GPC4 associated with SGBS.
Previous studies reported that mutation of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene was not observed in the majority of gastric cancers. To evaluate the role of the APC/beta-catenin/Tcf pathway, we analyzed mutations in the beta-catenin gene and the accumulation of beta-catenin protein in gastric carcinomas. An interstitial deletion spanning exon 3 of the beta-catenin gene was observed in 1 of 13 gastric cancer cell lines. No missense mutation was found in these 13 cell lines. Nuclear and/or cytoplasmic localization of beta-catenin was observed in 16 of 70 primary gastric carcinomas by immunohistochemistry, while we found no mutations in exon 3 in 35 carcinoma tissues available for PCR amplification. Our findings suggest that somatic mutations of the beta-catenin gene are rare in human gastric carcinomas and that accumulation of normal beta-catenin protein in a subset of gastric cancers may be due to other mechanisms of its activation.
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the mutations in a pedigree with maternally inherited sensorineural hearing loss, and to investigate whether 235delC heterozygote mutation in gap junction protein beta 2 (GJB2) gene modulates the severity of hearing loss associated with the A1555G mitochondrial mutation. METHODS: The PCR products were digested with the Alw26 I restriction enzyme, followed by direct sequencing to detect the mitochondrial mutations in 72 members of a core pedigree of an extensive family with matrilineal nonsyndromic deafness; 235delC mutation of the GJB2 gene was screened in this family by using the Apa I restriction enzyme and direct sequencing. RESULTS: The A1555G mutation of the mitochondrial DNA was present in all 27 members of maternal line, out of them, 21 members had phenotype of deafness (77.8%), with a high penetrance. Only three maternal line members of 72 members possessed 235delC heterozygote mutations, and the three had different phenotypes. CONCLUSION: The A1555G homozygous mutation of mitochondrial DNA is the susceptive etiological factor of nonsyndromic deafness in this family, but in the study of this pedigree, the 235delC heterozygous mutation in GJB2 gene may not aggravate the symptoms of hearing loss associated with the A1555G mitochondrial mutation.