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BackgroundInactivation of the Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumour suppressor gene leading to overexpression of hypoxia-inducible transcription factors (HIF)-1alpha and -2alpha is a critical event in the pathogenesis of most clear cell renal cell carcinomas (RCC). HIF-1alpha and HIF-2alpha share significant homology and regulate overlapping repertoires of hypoxia-inducible target genes but may have differing effects on RCC cell growth. Loss of HIF-1alpha expression has been described in RCC cell lines and primary tumours. Whether mutations in the alpha-subunits of HIF-1alpha and HIF-2alpha contribute to renal tumourigenesis was investigated here.Materials and methodsMutation analysis of the complete coding sequence of HIF-1alpha and HIF-2alpha was carried out in primary RCC (n=40).ResultsThe analysis revealed a somatic HIF1A missense substitution, p.Val116Glu, in a single RCC. Functional studies demonstrated that p.Val116Glu impaired HIF-1alpha transcriptional activity. Genotyping of HIF1A variants p.Pro582Ser and p.Ala588Thr demonstrated no significant differences between RCC patients and controls.ConclusionThe detection of a loss-of-function HIF1A mutation in a primary RCC is consistent with HIF-1 and HIF-2 having different roles in renal tumourigenesis, However, somatic mutations of HIF1A are not frequently implicated in the pathogenesis of RCC.

Type

Journal article

Journal

Anticancer research

Publication Date

11/2009

Volume

29

Pages

4337 - 4343

Addresses

Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, University of Birmingham, Institute of Biomedical Research, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.

Keywords

Humans, Carcinoma, Renal Cell, Kidney Neoplasms, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Case-Control Studies, DNA Mutational Analysis, Germ-Line Mutation, Mutation, Missense, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors, Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit