title: Ratio of expression of p16INK4a to p14ARF correlates with the progression of non-small cell lung cancer.
abstract: The CDKN2 gene is located on the short arm of chromosome 9p and encodes two unrelated proteins, p16(INK4a) and p14(ARF), through the use of independent first exons and shared exons 2 and 3. p16(INK4a) is a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, whereas p14(ARF) regulates the cell cycle through a p53 and MDM2-dependent pathway. We have examined the expression of p16(INK4a) and p14(ARF) using competitive RT-PCR in 60 non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) and matching normal lung tissues. The intensities of bands for p16(INK4a) and p14(ARF) were nearly equal or the intensity of the p16(INK4a) band slightly exceeded that of p14(ARF) in the normal lung tissues (n = 60). In 38 tumors the intensity of the p16(INK4a) band was similar to or slightly weaker than that of p14(ARF). In 6 tumors the intensity of the p16(INK4a) band was weaker than that of p14(ARF). In 15 tumors the intensity of the p14(ARF) band was very strong and the p16(INK4a) band was barely visible. In only one tumor was the intensity of the p16(INK4a) band very strong, while the band of p14(ARF) was barely visible. The ratio of the intensity of p16(INK4a) to p14(ARF) had an interesting correlation with the tumor's clinicopathological characteristics. The p stage II - IV tumors had significantly lower p16(INK4a) to p14(ARF) ratios than the p stage I tumors (P = 0.036). The T2 - 4 tumors had significantly lower p16(INK4a) to p14(ARF) ratios than the T1 tumors (P = 0.005). The N1 - 3 tumors had significantly lower p16(INK4a) to p14(ARF) ratios than the N0 tumors (P = 0.014). Our results suggest that the ratio of expression of p16(INK4a) to p14(ARF) tends to decrease during the progression of NSCLC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery II, Nagoya City University Medical School, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya 467-8601, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moriyama
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakashima
authors.forename: Motoki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yano
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaji
authors.forename: Yosuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamakawa
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toyama
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.forename: Hirotaka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iwase
authors.forename: Hidefumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Yushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Masanobu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kiriyama
authors.forename: Jyoji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujii
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D025803:Tumor Suppressor Protein p14ARF / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16; D025803:Tumor Suppressor Protein p14ARF