Use of Monozygotic Twins in Search for Breast Cancer Susceptibility Loci

Twin Research ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 251-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asta Försti ◽  
Qianren Jin ◽  
Lena Sundqvist ◽  
Magnus Söderberg ◽  
Kari Hemminki

AbstractWe have used Swedish monozygotic twins concordant for breast cancer to study genetic changes associated with the development of breast cancer. Because loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at a specific genomic region may reflect the presence of a tumour suppressor gene, loss of the same allele in both of the twins concordant for breast cancer may pinpoint a tumour suppressor gene that confers a strong predisposition to breast cancer. DNA samples extracted from the matched tumour and normal tissues of nine twin pairs were analysed for allelic imbalance using a set of microsatellite markers on chromosomes 1, 13, 16 and 17, containing loci with known tumour suppressor genes. The two main regions, where more twin pairs than expected had lost the same allele, were located at 16qtel, including markers D16S393, D16S305 and D16S413, and at 17p13, distal to the p53 locus. Our results show that the monozygotic twin model can be used to suggest candidate regions of potential tumour suppressor genes, even with a limited number of twin pairs.

2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc L Ooft ◽  
Jolique van Ipenburg ◽  
Rob van Loo ◽  
Rick de Jong ◽  
Cathy Moelans ◽  
...  

AimsTo assess differences in methylation profiles, and thus pathogenesis, between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive and negative nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPCs). Also, promoter hypermethylation is a common phenomenon in early carcinogenesis to inactivate tumour suppressor genes. Since epigenetic changes are reversible, the therapeutic application of methylation inhibitors could provide treatment options.MethodsWe evaluated promoter hypermethylation profiles of 22 common tumour suppressor genes in 108 NPCs using methylation-specific multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification. Correlation between methylation, clinicopathological features (including EBV) and survival was examined. Cluster analysis was also performed.ResultsHypermethylation of RASSF1A and ESR1 was significantly more frequent in EBV-positive NPC, while hypermethylation of DAPK1 was more frequent in EBV-negative NPC. In logistic regression, age, with EBV-positive NPC occurring at earlier age, and RASSF1, with RASSF1 hypermethylation being more frequent in EBV-positive NPC, remained significant. In EBV-positive NPC, hypermethylation of RASSF1A predicted worse overall survival (OS) (HR 3.058,95% CI 1.027 to 9.107). In EBV-negative NPC, hypermethylated adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) was a predictor of poor disease-free survival (DFS) (HR 6.868, 95% CI 2.142 to 22.022).ConclusionThere are important epigenetic differences between EBV-negative and EBV-positive NPCs, with EBV-negative NPC having a more similar hypermethylation profile to other head and neck squamous cell carcinomas than EBV-positive NPC. Hypermethylation of RASSF1A might contribute to worse OS in EBV-positive NPC, and may be an important event in the pathogenesis of EBV-infected NPC. Hypermethylation of APC might contribute to worse DFS in EBV-negative NPC.


Biologija ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daredzhan Araviashvili ◽  
Olga Chzhu ◽  
Igor Marinich ◽  
Irina Danilova

Established primate lymphocyte cell lines obtained from tumour samples and from EBV-positive monkeys served us as the model system for studying the role of genetic factors and chromosomal abnormalities in malignization. The investigation of chromosome regions and genes involved in chromosomal aberrations leading to malignization in these lines was the aim of our work. Cytogenetic analysis was performed at different stages of cultivation in vitro. To determine the oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes located on aberrant chromosomes, data on mapping rhesus macaque genes, and high similarity of human and monkey karyotypes were used. We found that, in the line obtained from lymphomatous baboon tissue, the inactivation of tumour suppressor gene RB1 on chromosome 17 after chromosomal rearrangement is one of the most probable causes of in vivo malignization. Chromosomal aberrations at the region of oncogene c-Ki-ras and tumour suppressor gene TP53 change the proliferative status and differentiation in established cell lines obtained from healthy but EBV-seropositive primates. The other cause of malignization in these lines is an increase in expression of the oncogene c-myc caused by trisomy of chromosome 8 where c-myc is located. Structural aberrations in established primate cell lines affecting several chromosomal loci were identified as: (1) causing the proto-oncogene activation – the central event in the tumour clone occurrence, and (2) deactivating tumour suppressor genes. The change in the chromosome number leads to increase in oncogenic products and to damage of regulatory functions associated with cell proliferation.


2001 ◽  
Vol 3 (13) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith W. Brown ◽  
Karim T.A. Malik

Wilms' tumour (WT; nephroblastoma), a kidney neoplasm, is one of the most frequently occurring solid tumours of childhood. It arises from the developing kidney by genetic and epigenetic changes that lead to the abnormal proliferation of renal stem cells (metanephric blastema). WT serves as a paradigm for understanding the relationship between loss of developmental control and gain of tumourigenic potential. In particular, loss of function of tumour suppressor genes has been implicated in the development of WT, and the Wilms' tumour suppressor gene WT1 (at chromosome 11p13) was the second tumour suppressor gene to be cloned, after the retinoblastoma gene RB-1. WT1 plays an essential role in kidney development, but is mutated in only approximately 20% of WTs, which suggests that further lesions and genetic loci are involved in Wilms' tumourigenesis. Other chromosomal regions associated with WT include 7p, 11p15, 16q and 17q. Although many of these loci probably contain tumour suppressor genes, imprinted genes (genes showing expression of only one parental allele) and oncogenes have also been implicated in WT. Some loci have been shown to be associated with particular clinical outcomes, suggesting that they might be used to determine prognosis, and especially to identify poor prognostic subgroups that can be targeted for aggressive and/or novel therapies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (4.2) ◽  
pp. 4585-4589
Author(s):  
Priya S Patil ◽  
◽  
Jaydeep N Pol ◽  
Ashalata D Patil ◽  
◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. T39-T55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiranjit K Dhillon ◽  
Ilirjana Bajrami ◽  
Toshiyasu Taniguchi ◽  
Christopher J Lord

When theBRCA1andBRCA2tumour suppressor genes were identified in the early 1990s, the immediate implications of mapping, cloning and delineating the sequence of these genes were that individuals in families with aBRCAgene mutation could be tested for the presence of a mutation and their risk of developing cancer could be predicted. Over time though, the discovery ofBRCA1andBRCA2has had a much greater influence than many might have imagined. In this review, we discuss how the discovery ofBRCA1andBRCA2has not only provided an understanding of the molecular processes that drive tumourigenesis but also reignited an interest in therapeutically exploiting loss-of-function alterations in tumour suppressor genes.


2020 ◽  
pp. jmedgenet-2020-107320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Walsh ◽  
Silvia Casadei ◽  
Katherine M Munson ◽  
Mary Eng ◽  
Jessica B Mandell ◽  
...  

AbstractCurrent clinical approaches for mutation discovery are based on short sequence reads (100–300 bp) of exons and flanking splice sites targeted by multigene panels or whole exomes. Short-read sequencing is highly accurate for detection of single nucleotide variants, small indels and simple copy number differences but is of limited use for identifying complex insertions and deletions and other structural rearrangements. We used CRISPR-Cas9 to excise complete BRCA1 and BRCA2 genomic regions from lymphoblast cells of patients with breast cancer, then sequenced these regions with long reads (>10 000 bp) to fully characterise all non-coding regions for structural variation. In a family severely affected with early-onset bilateral breast cancer and with negative (normal) results by gene panel and exome sequencing, we identified an intronic SINE-VNTR-Alu retrotransposon insertion that led to the creation of a pseudoexon in the BRCA1 message and introduced a premature truncation. This combination of CRISPR–Cas9 excision and long-read sequencing reveals a class of complex, damaging and otherwise cryptic mutations that may be particularly frequent in tumour suppressor genes replete with intronic repeats.


2016 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. S187
Author(s):  
E. Martín-Sánchez ◽  
S. Mendaza ◽  
A. Ulazia-Garmendia ◽  
I. Monreal-Santesteban ◽  
A. Córdoba ◽  
...  

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