Molecular cloning of p53 cDNA of Mongolian gerbil and establishment of yeast p53 functional assay system.
BACKGROUND
Epidemiological studies have shown a correlation between Helicobacter pylori infection and human gastric carcinogenesis. A Mongolian gerbil model has demonstrated that H. pylori infection induced gastric carcinoma. However, the disadvantage of this animal model is a lack of information regarding the cellular genes involved in oncogenesis. Mutation of the p53 gene is one of the most common steps in gastric carcinogenesis. In this study, we aimed to clone the p53 gene of the Mongolian gerbil and detect the functional mutations in H. pylori-infected animals.


METHODS
The p53 complementary DNA (cDNA) of Mongolian gerbil was cloned by the methods of reverse-transcribed polymerase chain reaction and rapid amplification of cDNA ends.


RESULTS
The p53 cDNA of Mongolian gerbil has a 78.8% homology to that of humans. A novel yeast p53 assay system was established and enabled to detect the functional mutations of the p53 gene in the stomach of the Mongolian gerbil.


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first report of the complete sequence of wild-type p53 cDNA of the Mongolian gerbil. This genetic information and an assay system designed to detect the functional mutations of the p53 gene are useful for further investigations of gastric oncogenesis in this animal model.
Ishizuka
Jun
J
Department of Gastroenterology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Institute for Genetic Medicine, Hokkaido University; Sapporo, Japan.
Sugiyama
Toshiro
T
Aoyama
Tetsuya
T
Hirayama
Fumihiro
F
Tada
Mitsuhiro
M
Kato
Mototsugu
M
Moriuchi
Tetsuya
T
Asaka
Masahiro
M
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D005849:Gerbillinae; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000150:complications; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010957:Plasmids; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000235:genetics*; D015003:Yeasts / Q000235:genetics*
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53