Frequent expression of Bcl-2 in renal-cell carcinomas carrying wild-type p53

✍ Scribed by Yoshihiko Tomita; Vladimir Bilim; Takashi Kawasaki; Kota Takahashi; Ismail Okan; Kristinn P. Magnusson; Klas G. Wiman

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: French
• Weight: 498 KB
• Volume: 66
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0020-7136
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0215(19960503)66:3<322::aid-ijc9>3.0.co;2-0

✦ Synopsis

The p53 tumor-suppressor gene is the most commonly mutated gene in cancer. However, p53 gene alterations are infrequent in renal-cell cancer (RCC). Bcl-2 has been shown to inhibit apoptosis triggered by wild-type p53 and an inverse correlation between Bcl-2 expmrion and p53 mutation has been observed in breast cancer and glioma. To characterize the expression of bcl-2 in RCC and its relationship to the p53 status, we analyzed 25 RCCs by immunohistochemistry for Bcl-2 and p53, Southern hybridization for bcl-2, and PCR-SSCP and sequencing for p53. Positive Bcl-2 staining was detected in I7 of 25 RCCs, whereas positive p53 staining was seen in only I. Amplification of bcl-2 or p53 mutation was not detected in any ofthe tumors. Bcl-2 protein was expressed in all 7 RCC cell lines examined. Only one of the 7 lines had p53 mutation. These results suggest that overexpression of bcl-2, rather than p53 mutation, may prevent apoptosis during RCC development.