Sensitivity of single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis in detecting p53 point mutations in tumors with mixed cell populations
- New England Medical Center, Boston, MA (United States) Tufts Univ., Boston, MA (United States)
Mutations in the p53 tumor-suppressor gene are commonly found in human cancers of diverse origin. Once of a number of methods developed to analyze large numbers of DNA samples for specific mutations is the single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. This method is particularly well suited for analysis of tissues, such as brain tumors, with mixed cell populations. It takes advantage of the fact that, in a mixed cell population containing DNA with and without a mutation (e.g., the p53 gene mutation), both molecular species will be amplified by the PCR. A mutation within a PCR-amplified DNA fragment will alter the secondary structure of the amplified fragment and affect its electrophoretic mobility in a nondenaturing gel. The DNA fragments with the mutation are detected as an aberrantly migrating allele that can be seen concurrently with the wild-type allele. Although many studies have used this technique to screen for p53 mutations in tumors, with detection of a number of different mutations the limit of detection of point mutations in a background of wild-type DNA is not known. To test this, mixtures of mutant DNA from tumor D317 with a G-to-A point mutation in codon 272 of the p53 gene; or from tumor D263 (with a G-to-A point mutation in codon 175 of the p53 gene) and wild-type DNA from leukocytes, in ratios of 1:100, 5:95, 10:90, 15:85, 50:50, and 30:70, were prepared. The mixtures containing 100 ng of DNA were amplified using standard PCR technique. After the double-stranded DNAs were denatured, the DNA samples were loaded and electrophoresed on a nondenaturing acrylamide gel. The mutant allele was detectable even when the ratio of mutant to wild-type DNA was 5:95 in tumor D317. For tumor D263, the mutant allele was detectable when the ratio of mutant to wild-type DNA was 15:85, and it was not detectable at 10:90.
- OSTI ID:
- 6310196
- Journal Information:
- American Journal of Human Genetics; (United States), Vol. 52:6; ISSN 0002-9297
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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