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Malignant Transformation of Nontrophoblastic Cells Is Associated with the Expression of Chorionic Gonadotropin ß Genes Normally Transcribed in Trophoblastic Cells¹

Service de Biologie Oncologique, Institut Gustave Roussy, 39 Rue Camille Desmoulins, 94805 Villejuif Cedex [D. B., J-M. B.]; Laboratoire d'Immunologie des Tumeurs, Unité de Recherche Associée, 1484 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire, Faculté des Sciences Pharmaceutiques et Biologiques de Paris, 4 Avenue de l'Observatoire, 75006 Paris [D. B., V. L., I. B., V. P., Y. G., P. B., J-M. B., M. V.]; Laboratoire d'Oncogénétique, Centre René Huguenin, 35 Rue Dailly, 92211 Saint Cloud [I. B., R. L.]; Service d'Anatomie Pathologique, Centre Hospitalier du Kremlin Bicètre, 78 Rue du Général Leclerc, 94275 Le Kremlin Bicètre Cedex [V. P., P. B.]; Laboratoire de Biochimie A, Groupe Hospitalier Necker Enfants-Malades, 149 Rue de Sèvres, 75743 Paris Cedex 15 [P. P.], France

The ß subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCGß) is encoded by four nonallelic CGß genes. An assay was developed for distinguishing type I CGß allelic genes ß7 and ß6, which possess a GCC codon corresponding to an alanine at position 117 of hCGß, from type II CGß genes ß8, ß5, and ß3 and its allele ß9, which possess a GAC codon corresponding to an aspartic acid at the same position. In normal trophoblast, hCGß is encoded by type II CGß genes, whereas normal nontrophoblastic tissues of differing histological origin (breast, prostate, skeletal muscle, bladder, adrenal glands, thyroid, colon, and uterus) express only type I CGß genes. We studied the expression of CGß genes in 86 tumor specimens collected from patients with breast, bladder, prostate, and thyroid cancer and found that up to 61% of these nontrophoblastic tumors expressed type II CGß genes. Experiments performed on tumor tissues and their normal counterparts confirmed that the malignant transformation of nontrophoblastic cells is associated with the expression of type II CGß genes. These findings provide the basis for a simple test (the CG117 assay) that may be useful for the diagnosis of the most frequent malignancies.

¹ Supported in part by grants from the Association pour la Recherche sur le Cancer, Villejuif, France.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed.

Received 7/25/96. Accepted 12/ 4/96.

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