title: N-ras genes are not mutated in Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg cells: results from single cell polymerase chain-reaction examinations.
abstract: Ras mutations play an important role in many human tumors. They usually occur at only three codons (12, 13 and 61) of the three ras gene family members and lead to altered proteins resulting in a constitutively activated downstream signal cascade. We have examined the N-ras gene status in Hodgkin's disease (HD). Little is known about the pathogenetic events leading to malignant phenotype in HD. Since Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (H and RD) cells comprise only a minority of the cellular infiltrate in HD-lymph nodes, molecular studies concerning the status of oncogenes have been difficult to perform and have yielded conflicting results. We have established a single cell PCR assay for N-ras analysis and have examined H and RS cells from 12 cases of HD by PCR amplification and direct sequencing. None of the single H and RS cells examined carried N-ras mutations at either codons 12/13 or 61. Therefore, N-ras mutations are not involved in the pathogenesis of HD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine I, University of Saarland, Homurg/Sarr, Germany.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Trümper
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pfreundschuh
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: von Bonin
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Loftin
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Möller
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Daus
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001483:Base Sequence; D003062:Codon; D017931:DNA Primers; D005260:Female; D011905:Genes, ras; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D016539:Reed-Sternberg Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D003062:Codon; D017931:DNA Primers