Analysis of a Novel Breast Cancer Growth Suppressor Gene on Chromosome 17

摘要

Understanding the genetic basis of cancer will greatly improve our ability todevelop more effective therapies. One family of genes involved in cancer is the tumor suppressor genes. We have functional evidence for a new breast cancer suppressor gene on chromosome 17. Transfer of a normal human chromosome 17 results in growth arrest of the MCF7 breast cancer cell line. We are using two approaches to localize the region containing this gene. The first involves the transfer of chromosome 17s containing specific deletions into MCF7 cells followed by our growth arrest assay to determine whether that chromosome contains the suppressor gene. We have determined that the gene lies on chromosome 17q and are now further localizing this gene. In parallel, we are studying loss of heterozygosity (or LOH, which is an indirect indicator of the presence of a suppressor gene) in breast tumors and have identified at least three candidate LOH regions on chromosome 17. Future studies will involve physical mapping of the region containing the suppressor gene, and we provide evidence for our ability to develop region-specific markers. We have also undertaken feasibility studies to determine whether YACs can be used in the MCF7 growth arrest assay.