title: Molecular alterations involving p53 codons 167 and 183 in papillary thyroid carcinomas from chernobyl-contaminated regions of belarus.
abstract: After the Chernobyl accident in 1986, there was a significant increase in the incidence of papillary thyroid carcinoma in fallout-exposed children from Belarus. We studied the p53 gene from 24 papillary thyroid carcinoma cases presenting in 1996. All subjects lived in contaminated regions of Belarus at the time of the accident and were under age 20 when exposed to fallout. Exons 5 through 9 of p53 were amplified from genomic tumor DNA using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR products were analyzed by direct DNA sequencing using an automated sequencer. Five cases each exhibited two molecular alterations within exon 5. Alterations were confirmed by sequencing in both directions. One alteration, involving codon 167 (CAG-->CAT) in all five cases, resulted in the substitution of HIS for GLN. The second alteration, involving codon 183 (TCA-->TGA) in all five cases, resulted in a premature termination codon. Leukocyte DNA from each of the positive cases was analyzed and found to contain only wild-type p53 sequence. These results suggest that mutations involving codons 167 and 183 in the p53 locus are important in the pathogenesis of a subset (21%) of radiation-induced papillary thyroid carcinomas from Belarus.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genetics and Cytology, Minsk, Belarus.
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Pisarchik
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ermak
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Kartel
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Figge
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000235:genetics*; D002648:Child; D003062:Codon / Q000235:genetics*; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics*; D009688:Nuclear Reactors; D018788:Radioactive Hazard Release; D002094:Republic of Belarus; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000235:genetics*; D014455:Ukraine
chemical_list: D003062:Codon; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53