Abstract
Purpose: :
Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most frequently occurring intra-ocular malignancy in adults. Half of all patients eventually develop (liver) metastasis regardless of local therapy. Most UMs show aberrations on the chromosomes 1, 3, 6 and 8. Recently, inactivating somatic mutations and intragenic deletions were found in the PARK2 gene, located on 6q25.2-q27, in different human malignancies (Veeriah et al, 2010). In this study we search for somatic mutations of the PARK2-gene in UM patients with loss of chromosome 6q.
Methods: :
Tumor tissue from enucleated eyes was tested for loss of chromosome 6q by Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH). Deletions or duplications of PARK2 exon sequences were assayed with Multiplex Ligation dependent Probe Amplification (MLPA) using the SALSA P051 probe kit. Standard PCR resequencing was conducted of all 12 exons of the PARK2 gene.
Results: :
In 16 out of 57 (28%) cases loss of 6q25.2-q27 was found. PCR sequencing revealed basepair changes in all cases, but these all corresponded to known SNPs. None of the mutations described in the literature was found in our group of UM patients.
Conclusions: :
PCR sequencing revealed no somatic mutations of the PARK2 gene in UM patients with loss of chromosome 6q. Thus unlike other solid tumors PARK2 gene loss is not accompanying chromosome 6 loss in uveal melanoma.
Keywords: tumors • uvea • genetics