title: Detection of p53 mutations using nonradioactive SSCP analysis: p53 is not frequently mutated in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).
abstract: p53 is one of the most frequently mutated genes in human cancers. Since p53 has been implicated in lymphatic and some myeloid leukemias, such as the blastic phase of chronic myelogenous leukemia, we sought to address the role of p53 gene mutations within exons 4-9 in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a myeloid preleukemic condition. In order to avoid the potential hazard of using radioactive single-strand conformation analysis (SSCP), we used a nonradioactive SSCP method based on the silver stain of small minigels. In cell lines with known point mutations of the p53 gene, aberrant migrating bands were found. Serial dilutions indicated a sensitivity comparable to radioactive methods. Furthermore, a common polymorphism within the 4th exon of the p53 gene was easily detected. However, of 17 primary samples from patients with MDS, none harbored a p53 gene mutation. We conclude that this nonradioactive method can easily be used to screen for p53-gene mutations, and that p53-gene mutations do not play a major role in the pathogenesis of MDS.
authors.affiliation: Universitätsklinikum Rudolf Virchow der Freien Universität Berlin, Abteilung für Hämatologie, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Neubauer
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brendel
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vogel
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Heide
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Huhn
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000235:genetics; D016158:Genes, p53 / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D009190:Myelodysplastic Syndromes / Q000235:genetics*; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D017354:Point Mutation; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D016622:Silver Staining / Q000379:methods; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded