Frequent Down Regulation of the Tumor Suppressor Gene A20 in Multiple Myeloma |
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| Authors: | Katharina Troppan Sybille Hofer Kerstin Wenzl Markus Lassnig Beata Pursche Elisabeth Steinbauer Marco Wiltgen Barbara Zulus Wilfried Renner Christine Beham-Schmid Alexander Deutsch Peter Neumeister |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.; 2. Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.; 3. Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Documentation, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.; 4. Division of Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnostics, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.; University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, GERMANY, |
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| Abstract: | Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignant clonal expansion of plasma cells in the bone marrow and belongs to the mature B-cell neoplams. The pathogenesis of MM is associated with constitutive NF-κB activation. However, genetic alterations causing constitutive NF-κB activation are still incompletely understood. Since A20 (TNFAIP3) is a suppressor of the NF-κB pathway and is frequently inactivated in various lymphoid malignancies, we investigated the genetic and epigenetic properties of A20 in MM. In total, of 46 patient specimens analyzed, 3 single base pair exchanges, 2 synonymous mutations and one missense mutation were detected by direct sequencing. Gene copy number analysis revealed a reduced A20 gene copy number in 8 of 45 (17.7%) patients. Furthermore, immunohistochemical staining confirmed that A20 expression correlates with the reduction of A20 gene copy number. These data suggest that A20 contributes to tumor formation in a significant fraction of myeloma patients. |
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