Expression of TAP73 and Delta NP73 in malignant gliomas

Ugur H., Sayan A., Ozdamar S., Kanpolat Y., Ozturk M.

ONCOLOGY REPORTS, vol.11, no.6, pp.1337-1341, 2004 (SCI-Expanded) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 11 Issue: 6
  • Publication Date: 2004
  • Journal Name: ONCOLOGY REPORTS
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.1337-1341
  • Hacettepe University Affiliated: No

Abstract

The p73 gene is able to encode transcriptionaly active TAp73, as well as a dominant-negatively acting DeltaNp73 transcript isoforms. We studied differential expression of these forms in normal brain as well as glial tumors, by semiquantitative RT-PCR. The expression of p73 was low or undetectable in normal brain tissues. Most of the tumors and non-tumor brain tissues also lacked significant expression of p73 in patients with low-grade astrocytomas. In contrast, most high-grade glial tumors displayed strong upregulation of TAp73, whereas only a few displayed DeltaNp73 expression. These aberrations may reflect the inactivation of retinoblastoma pathway in these tumors which result in the activation of E2F transcription factors, since TAp73 is a known target of E2F1 gene. The study of TAp73 expression in brain tumors may serve as a means to evaluate the retinoblastoma pathway-dependent tumor progression.