FAILURE TO DETECT MUTATIONS IN THE RETINOBLASTOMA PROTEIN-BINDING DOMAIN OF THE TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR E2F-1 IN HUMAN CANCERS

The functions of the transcription factor E2F-1 are regulated by the R B protein through the RB-binding domain of E2F-1 and this factor is co nsidered to be an important molecule that functions downstream of the RB protein. In order to determine whether E2F-1 that cannot bind to RB might be associated with various human cancers, we searched for mutat ions in the RB-binding domain of E2F-1 using samples of DNA from vario us clinical specimens obtained from 406 cancer patients (with lung, pa ncreatic, stomach, colon, esophageal, and hepatic cancers) by analysis of polymerase chain reaction-mediated single-strand conformational po lymorphism. No mutations or deletions were detected in genes for E2F-1 from any of the tumor tissues examined. These results suggest that a mutation or deletion in E2F-1 that might affect binding of the RB prot ein is not involved in human cancers.