NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Previous reports have linked INK4a/ARF mutations with a predisposition to malignant melanoma, a UV light-induced tumor. Now, new research provides the first direct evidence that these mutations reduce the cell’s ability to repair UV light-induced DNA damage.
As reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute for December 1st, Dr. Thomas M. Runger, from Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues introduced UV-damaged DNA into mouse cells that were engineered to have one, both or neither mutation
The authors found that cells with the mutations were less able to repair the damaged DNA than normal control cells. As might be expected, DNA repair was most deficient in cells harboring both mutations.
“Although it is generally thought that [INK4a and ARF genes] suppress malignant proliferation in melanocytes through their acknowledged tumor suppressor roles, our work suggests an additional possibility that reduced repair of UV-induced DNA damage and increased mutation formation with loss of the INK4a/ARF locus might also contribute to melanoma formation,” the researchers conclude.
Source: J Natl Cancer Inst 2004;96:1790-1793. [ Google search on this article ]
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