Preferential amplification of the paternal allele of the N-myc gene in human neuroblastomas.
Genomic imprinting plays a role in influencing the parental origin of genes involved in cancer-specific rearrangements. We have analysed 22 neuroblastomas with N-myc amplification to determine the parental origin of the amplified N-myc allele and the allele that is deleted from chromosome 1p. We analysed DNA from neuroblastoma patients and their parents, using four polymorphisms for 1p and three for the N-myc amplicon. We determined that the paternal allele of N-myc was preferentially amplified (12 out of 13 cases; P = 0.002). However, the paternal allele was lost from 1p in six out of ten cases, consistent with a random distribution (P > 0.2). These results suggest that parental imprinting influences which N-myc allele is amplified in neuroblastomas, but it does not appear to affect the 1p allele that is deleted in the cases that we have examined.
Cheng
J M
JM
Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110.
Hiemstra
J L
JL
Schneider
S S
SS
Naumova
A
A
Cheung
N K
NK
Cohn
S L
SL
Diller
L
L
Sapienza
C
C
Brodeur
G M
GM
D000310:Adrenal Gland Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics; D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005784:Gene Amplification; D017353:Gene Deletion; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D016147:Genes, Tumor Suppressor; D016259:Genes, myc; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008957:Models, Genetic; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000235:genetics*; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
D004273:DNA, Neoplasm