title: Loss in expression of the retinoblastoma gene product in human gliomas is associated with advanced disease.
abstract: The retinoblastoma susceptibility gene (RB), the prototype of the class of tumor suppressor genes, is inactivated in a number of human malignancies. We investigated a possible role of RB in human brain tumors. Immunoprecipitation revealed frequent loss of RB protein expression in glioma cell lines (8/24), which was accompanied by lack of RB encoded transcripts. Among seventeen primary brain tumors studied by Western blotting, loss of Rb protein expression was observed in WHO grade 3 and 4 gliomas (3/10). However, none of the low grade gliomas and the other primary brain tumors investigated lacked RB protein expression. These data suggest a role for RB in glial malignancy, and loss of Rb expression appears to be associated with glial tumor progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Biology, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hamel
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Westphal
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Shepard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005910:Glioma / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016160:Retinoblastoma Protein / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D016160:Retinoblastoma Protein