Transformation and immortalization require the inactivation of key cell cycle regulatory genes. We examined 19 bladder cancer cell lines derived from 17 patients for alterations in TP53, RB1, CDKN2A, and ARF. Twelve cell lines had a mutation in exons 5-11 of TP53 and, with only one exception, a concomitant loss of RB1 protein expression. Another group of seven cell lines had a wild-type TP53 ge...

BACKGROUND Chagas disease patients with longstanding megaesophagus have a significantly increased risk for esophageal carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS PCR-SSCP analysis and DNA sequencing of esophageal mucosa from Chagas disease patients (with or without megaesophagus) in the exons of the TP53, CDKN2A and FHIT genes were performed. RESULTS SSCP analysis showed a mobility shift in 2/20 patie...

The CDKN2A gene locus encodes two different proteins derived from alternative splicing. p16 (exons 1alpha, 2, and 3) acts as a G1 cell cycle regulator, and p14ARF (exons 1beta, 2, and 3) acts to modulate MDM2-mediated degradation of p53. Inactivation of p16 is a common finding in many cancers; however, there is little data on CDKN2A gene abnormalities in oral precancer. In this longitudinal stu...

BACKGROUND Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare, predominantly asbestos-related and biologically highly aggressive tumour leading to a dismal prognosis. Multimodality therapy consisting of platinum-based chemotherapy is the treatment of choice. The reasons for the rather poor efficacy of platinum compounds remain largely unknown. MATERIAL AND METHODS For this exploratory mRNA study,...

CDKN2A has been implicated as a melanoma susceptibility gene in some kindreds with a family history of this disease. Mutations in CDKN2A may produce an imbalance between functional p16ink4a and cyclin D causing abnormal cell growth. We searched for germline mutations in this gene in 22 patients with clinical criteria of hereditary cancer (early onset, presence of multiple primary melanoma or 1 ...

BACKGROUND The CDKN2A gene is the major known high-risk melanoma susceptibility gene. Susceptibility to other cancers has also been suggested. However, most studies examining the risks of other cancers classified individuals according to the family's CDKN2A mutation rather than determining individual mutation status. For non-population-based studies, risks could also be biased because of cancer...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia clinically characterized by progressive impairment of memory and other cognitive functions. Many genetic researches in AD identified one common genetic variant (ε4) in Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene as a risk factor for the disease. Two independent genome-wide studies demonstrated a new locus on chromosome 9p21.3 implicated in Late-Onse...

Dysplastic nevi (DN) is a strong risk factor for cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM), and it frequently occurs in melanoma-prone families. To identify genetic variants for DN, we genotyped 677 tagSNPs in 38 melanoma candidate genes that are involved in pigmentation, DNA repair, cell cycle control, and melanocyte proliferation pathways in a total of 504 individuals (310 with DN, 194 without DN) f...

OBJECTIVE Comprehensive analysis of the 9p21 locus including the CDKN2A, ARF, and CDKN2B genes in 53 individuals from melanoma index cases considered to be at heightened risk of melanoma. METHODS AND RESULTS Using a combination of DNA sequencing, gene copy number by real time quantitative PCR, linkage analysis, and transcript analysis in haploid somatic cell hybrids, we found no evidence for ...