Alterations of K-ras and p53 mutations in colorectal cancer patients in Central Europe.
Many molecular investigations of colorectal cancer (CRC) have suggested that the accumulation of specific mutations in proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes regulating cell growth via signal transduction trigger the stagewise progression to malignancy. In this study, the frequency, location, and type of mutations of the K-ras proto-oncogene exon I and p53 tumor suppressor gene exons 5-8 were analyzed in colorectal carcinomas of 65 patients from Central Europe, using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-cold single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) screening and direct sequencing. The incidence of K-ras activating mutations in these Central European samples was lower (25%) compared to that obtained in American and western European populations (40-50% at least), while the incidence of p53 inactivating mutations was similar (58%). These results suggest that some other genetically linked mechanisms may play a role in CRC development and progression, and hence K-ras and p53 mutations cannot be considered to be universal genetic markers for CRC.
Department of Molecular Genetics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Faculty of Medicine, and 1st Institute of Pathology and Experimental Cancer Research, Budapest.
E A
EA
König
I
I
Köves
A
A
Raşinariu
A R
AR
Popp
W C
WC
Kusser
K
K
Soyonki
A
A
Kovács
B W
BW
Glickman
A
A
Jeney
Z L
ZL
Marcsek
D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D017931:DNA Primers; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005060:Europe; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics; D011905:Genes, ras / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics; D018807:Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000235:genetics*
D017931:DNA Primers; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; C000715470:MAS1 protein, human; D000090063:Proto-Oncogene Mas; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53