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Departments of Medical Genetics [M. K., R. L., R. S., K. A., S. K., V. L., A. K., L. A. A.] and Pathology [J. A., R. S.], Biomedicum Helsinki or Haartman Institute, University of Helsinki, FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland; Departments of Surgery [H. J.] and Obstetrics and Gynecology [J. S.], Helsinki University Central Hospital, FIN-00290 Helsinki, Finland; Institute of Medical Technology, University of Tampere and Tampere University Hospital, FIN-33014 Tampere, Finland [T. V., J. I.]; Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand [B. D.]; and Department of Pathology, Oulu University Hospital, FIN-90220 Oulu, Finland [R. H.]
| ABSTRACT |
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| Introduction |
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To evaluate the role of FH in the development of sporadic tumors, we screened FH mutations by genomic sequencing from 41 uterine leiomyomas, 10 cutaneous leiomyomas, and 52 renal cell carcinomas, tumors that are characteristic of HLRCC/MCL. Fifty-three sarcomas, 29 prostate carcinomas, and 15 lobular breast carcinomas were also included in the study because these tumor types have occurred in mutation-positive individuals of HLRCC families (2 , 4) .
| Materials and Methods |
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DHPLC Analysis.
To examine the population frequency of allele His153Arg in exon 4, DNA from 134 controls was used. The amplicons for the DHPLC analysis were generated in 50-µl PCR reactions consisting of 50 ng of genomic DNA, 0.7x Platinum PCR Buffer (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA), 200 µM each deoxynucleotide triphosphate (Finnzymes), 0.3 µM forward and reverse primers (see Table 2
for exon 4 primer sequences), 1.4 mM MgCl2, and DNA polymerases Platinum Taq (1.25 units; Invitrogen), Titanium Taq (0.6 unit; Clontech, Palo Alto, CA), and AmpliTaq Gold (0.6 unit; Applied Biosystems). The hot-start PCR cycling conditions were as follows: 94°C for 12 min; 94°C for 12 min; followed by 35 cycles of denaturing for 30 s, 58°C for 30 s, and 72°C for 45 s; and a final extension at 72°C for 10 min. Denaturing temperature was lowered from 94°C to 89°C after 10 cycles. Samples were denatured at 95°C for 5 min and reannealed by gradually cooling down 1°C/min for 50 min. DHPLC heteroduplex analysis was performed at 55°C using automated HPLC instrumentation with Eclipse double-stranded DNA 2.1 x 75-mm analytical column (Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto, CA). The analytical gradient was created by mixing buffer A (100 mM triethylammonium acetate and 0.10 mM EDTA) and 57.471.9% buffer B (100 nM triethylammonium acetate, 0.10 mM EDTA, and 25% acetonitrile) at a flow rate of 0.4 ml/min.
| Results and Discussion |
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In the uterine leiomyosarcoma from patient LS10, a missense mutation His153Arg in exon 4 and a premature termination codon Leu240Stop in exon 5 were detected (Fig. 1, A and B)
. The mutation His153Arg was also found in the patients normal tissue DNA, indicating a germ-line change. The change occurred at a highly conserved region of FH and was not detected by DHPLC in a panel of 268 control chromosomes. Through examination of patient records, the patients disease history was clarified. Patient LS10 was first diagnosed with uterine leiomyomatosis at the age of 30 years and had had two myomectomies in the following 2 years. The tumor excised in the second operation turned out to be malignant uterine leiomyosarcoma in the histopathological evaluation, and thus a hysterectomy was performed. Compatible with hereditary cancer predisposition, the patient was only 32 years old.
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In the cutaneous leiomyoma from patient IL10, a 2-bp deletion 541delAG in exon 4 and a premature termination codon Arg300Stop in exon 6 were found (Fig. 1, D and E)
. The mutation 541delAG was also detected in the patients normal tissue DNA. This mutation has been described previously in two Finnish HLRCC families (1)
, although no common ancestry was known for patient IL10 and the families. To determine the frequency of the 541delAG allele in the Finnish population, we analyzed the sequence change from 896 control chromosomes by SSCP. 541delAG alleles were not found in the control individuals. The somatic change Arg300Stop detected in the cutaneous leiomyoma had also been described previously in individuals of one HLRCC family. Sample mix-up was excluded by reamplification of the corresponding exon from normal and tumor tissue samples and genotyping of microsatellite markers in the FH gene region to confirm correct pairing. One explanation for the similar sequence change detected at the somatic level in the tumor and in the germ line of one HLRCC family could be a mutation hot spot. The single-bp substitution C to T, resulting in a premature termination codon Arg300Stop, occurred in a CG dimer, a sequence that is underrepresented in the human genome and specifically associated with C to T transitions by deamination of methylated cytosine (12)
. Patient records revealed that patient IL10 had been operated on several times due to multiple leiomyomas of the skin but had no history of malignancy.
Mutations of hereditary cancer genes do not always explain the development of corresponding sporadic tumors, as demonstrated in reports on the low rate of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations detected in sporadic breast and ovarian carcinomas (13, 14, 15) . By contrast, the VHL tumor suppressor gene seems to play a significant role also in tumorigenesis of sporadic renal cell carcinomas. VHL mutations are found in as many as 57% of sporadic renal cell carcinomas (16) , and in 19% of tumors, VHL is inactivated by loss of one allele and DNA methylation of the other allele (17) . Methylation, an alternative mechanism for inactivation of a tumor suppressor gene, could also be the mechanism for FH inactivation in a subset of tumors included in this study. After identification of the FH promoter region, studies on promotor hypermethylation will further clarify whether FH is inactivated in those tumors, which harbored no FH sequence changes.
By analyzing tumors from 194 patients, we detected somatic FH mutations in one uterine leiomyosarcoma, one soft tissue sarcoma, and one cutaneous leiomyoma. The leiomyosarcoma and the cutaneous leiomyoma also harbored germ-line mutations. This effort adds to the knowledge of the role of FH in tumorigenesis. First, mutations of the FH gene appear to be rare in the sporadic tumor types included in the study. Second, two of three cases with a somatic mutation also harbored an inherited mutation. Whereas this observation may be incidental, it raises the hypothesis that germ-line mutations of FH are primarily required for effective tumorigenesis. Third, one mutation-positive lesion, a soft tissue sarcoma, had acquired both inactivation events, a mutation and allelic loss, at the somatic level. This is to our knowledge the first evidence that FH is also involved in the development of nonhereditary tumors. Studies on mechanisms other than mutational inactivation, such as transcriptional silencing through promoter hypermethylation, will further clarify this issue. Fourth, in all cases, tumors followed the two-hit model of inactivation of a tumor suppressor gene (5) , confirming the previous findings (1, 2, 3, 4) . The inactivation pattern of FH is remarkably robust; two hits can almost always be demonstrated in a tumor. Fifth, detection of a missense mutation in the germ line of a patient affected with uterine leiomyosarcoma demonstrates that missense mutations of FH can predispose individuals to malignant neoplasms. Previously, families segregating missense mutations of FH have not included affected individuals diagnosed with cancer (1 , 10 , 11) . Demonstration of a somatic nonsense mutation in a leiomyosarcoma, in addition to the germ-line defect, provides conclusive evidence that leiomyosarcoma predisposition is associated with HLRCC. Sixth, multiple cutaneous leiomyomas might be a useful sign of hereditary tumor susceptibility because we detected a germ-line FH mutation in a patient with cutaneous leiomyomas. Careful clinical and histopathological evaluation of skin lesions could be valuable in identifying patients with inherited predisposition to tumor development.
Much further work is needed to determine the role of FH mutations in tumorigenesis and the tumor spectrum and other clinical features associated with hereditary FH defects. More accurate identification of HLRCC/MCL should result in improved diagnosis, detection, and prevention of tumors in these patients.
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| FOOTNOTES |
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1 Supported by grants from the Helsinki University Central Hospital, Biocentrum Helsinki, the Sigrid Juselius Foundation, the Finnish Cancer Society, the Finnish Medical Society Duodecim, the Kidney Foundation, and the Academy of Finland (44870, Finnish Center of Excellence Programme 20002005). ![]()
2 M. K. and R. L. contributed equally to this work. ![]()
3 To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Department of Medical Genetics, Biomedicum Helsinki, P. O. Box 63, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland. Phone: 358-9-19125595; Fax: 358-9-19125105; E-mail: lauri.aaltonen{at}helsinki.fi ![]()
4 The abbreviations used are: FH, fumarate hydratase; HLRCC, hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer; MCL, multiple cutaneous and uterine leiomyomatosis; SSCP, single-strand conformational polymorphism; DHPLC, denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography. ![]()
5 S. Knuutila, unpublished data. ![]()
Received 4/29/02. Accepted 6/20/02.
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