Klin Padiatr 2004; 216 - 36
DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-828581

Reevaluation of gene amplification in medulloblastomas

T Lenschen 1, J Mühlisch 1, H Jürgens 1, C Plass 2, D Smiraglia 3, MC Frühwald 1
  • 1Department of Pediatriatic Hematology and Oncology, University Childrens Hospital Münster, Germany
  • 2Divison of Human Cancer Genetics, The Ohio State University, USA
  • 3Department of Cancer Genetics, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, USA

Introduction: We have recently described novel gene loci amplified in medulloblastomas detected by Restriction Landmark Genomic Scanning. The relevance of the corresponding genes has thus far not been determined. The rare occurence of amplifications in medulloblastomas makes it necessary to use large „cohorts“ of tumor samples, available only as paraffin sections. To this end we introduced a real-time PCR method examining DNA derived from paraffin sections.

Results: First experiments with this method to identify amplifications are promising. Amplifications that were found by RLGS, Southern or CGH could be confirmed for the genes examined. Loci of higher interest included genes identified on the previously described regions of 2p and 5p. One gene family located on chromosome 5p plays a role in neural development and differentiation. It is further examined as this locus does not only seem to be of importance for brain tumors but also for other neoplasias of adults.

Conclusion: Real-time PCR using SYBR-Green seems to be a useful method to identify amplifications for genes of interest. This method makes it possible to examine even small amounts of DNA for amplifications, to determine the extent of the amplification and to verify the results obtained with other independent methods.

Supported by the IZKF Projekt G3