title: Structural and functional analysis of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor genes (CDKN2A, CDKN2B, and CDKN2C) in neuroblastoma.
abstract: The status of the CDKN2A gene family, including CDKN2A, CDKN2B, and CDKN2C, was investigated in 24 cases of neuroblastoma. These genes were selected on the basis of 1) high incidence of their inactivation in several human cancers and 2) their localization on chromosomal regions (9p and 1p) frequently rearranged in neuroblastomas. Detailed molecular analyses indicated the absence of homozygous deletions and point mutations involving these genes in all investigated tumor samples. However, when loss of heterozygostity for chromosome 9p21 (the region where CDKN2A and CDKN2B are localized) was investigated, 16% of cases showed abnormalities in an area telomeric to the CDKN2A locus. To study transcriptional silencing of the CDKN2A gene, the methylation status of exon 1 was examined. In about 35% of cases, a partial methylation was evidenced. Analysis of the CDKN2A mRNA expression, however, did not show any relationship between methylation status and gene transcription. Finally, expression of the CDKN2B gene was demonstrated in all stage IV neuroblastomas, whereas none of stage I tumors expressed this gene. This finding suggests the occurrence of a correlation between CDKN2B transcription and tumor phenotype.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicina dell'Età Evolutiva, Università di Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iolascon
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giordani
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moretti
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Tonini
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lo Cunsolo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mastropietro
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Borriello
authors.forename: F D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Ragione
mesh_terms: D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D002878:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 1; D002899:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 9; D050762:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p15; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D050763:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p18; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins
chemical_list: C493966:CDKN2B protein, human; C493971:CDKN2C protein, human; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D050762:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p15; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16; D050763:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p18; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins