Recent molecular studies have shown a relatively high rate of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in neuroblastoma (NB) as well as other types of tumors in human chromosome band 1p36. To identify candidate tumor suppressor genes in NB, we searched for homozygous deletions in NB cell lines with PCR according to a high-density sequence tagged site (STS)-content map spanning 1p35-36. Among 25 NB cell lines examined, only one cell line, NB-1, showed no signal with 27 STSs in a 480 kb region in 1p36.2. The sequence analysis has revealed that the defective region included seven known genes (E4, KIF1B, SCYA5, PGD, Cortistatin, DFF45, and PEX14), nine expressed sequence tags (ESTs), and two microsatellite markers. These genes are related to apoptosis, an ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, a neuronal microtubule-associated motor molecule, and components of a common translocation machinery. The region between the DFF45 and KIF1B genes was defined as homozygous deletion by Southern blotting. The search in LOH regions with high-density STSs may be useful for the isolation and identification of tumor suppressor genes in other tumors as well as NBs.
Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.