title: Inactivation of RASSF1A, the tumor suppressor gene at 3p21.3 in extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the genetic and epigenetic inactivation mechanism of the RASSF1A tumor suppressor gene at 3p21.3 in extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  RT-PCR was used to investigate the transcriptional expressing and re-expression of RASSF1A. RASSF1A mutation was analyzed with SSCP and selective sequencing. PCR was performed to detect the loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at the region of chromosome 3p21.3. Genomic DNA were modificated bisulfite and the frequency of methylation of CpG islands in RASSF1A promoter were evaluated by methylation specific PCR (MS-PCR).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all 48 samples and one cell lines of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, the RASSF1A mutation is rare (6.12%, 3/49), 33 samples (68.75%) and QBC-939 cell lines (chi2 = 14.270, P = 0.001 > 0.01) showed RASSF1A express inactivation with LOH at microsatellite loci D3S4604. Among these 33 samples and QBC-939, 28 of 33 (84.85%) tumor samples and 1 cell lines were methylated for majority of 16 CpGs, the average frequency is 73.42%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data we present suggest that RASSF1A which we have been searching for at 3p21.3 may be one of the key tumor suppressor gene and play an important role in the pathogenesis of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and the promoter methylation and allelic loss are the major mechanism for inactivation of RASSF1A.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery of Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, Hubei Province, China. chenyongjun45@126.com
authors.forename: Yong-Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Qi-Bin
authors.initials: QB
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Shen-Quan
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Zou
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D017734:Bile Ducts, Extrahepatic / Q000473:pathology*; D018196:Carcinoma, Adenosquamous / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D018281:Cholangiocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D002893:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 3; D018899:CpG Islands / Q000502:physiology; D019175:DNA Methylation; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D019656:Loss of Heterozygosity; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D017354:Point Mutation; D018807:Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000502:physiology; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C411762:RASSF1 protein, human; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins