LOSS OF HETEROZYGOSITY STUDIES INDICATE THAT CHROMOSOME ARM IP HARBORS A TUMOR-SUPPRESSOR GENE FOR RENAL ONCOCYTOMAS

We carried out a complete genome scan for loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in four renal oncocytomas by using highly polymorphic CA repeat micro satellite loci. Three of the four tumors exhibited LOH for chromosome arm 1p, and the oncocytomas of both female patients lost Xq. Therefore , these chromosome arms may harbor tumor suppressor genes involved in the etiology of this disease. Although the genomes of oncocytomas are relatively stable, two different microsatellite loci in one tumor were mutated by +/- 2 nt. Similar alterations in CA repeats that are proba bly due to spontaneous mutation have been observed in renal cell carci nomas. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.