Km. Carlson et al., SINGLE MISSENSE MUTATION IN THE TYROSINE KINASE CATALYTIC DOMAIN OF THE RET PROTOONCOGENE IS ASSOCIATED WITH MULTIPLE ENDOCRINE NEOPLASIA TYPE 2B, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United Statesof America, 91(4), 1994, pp. 1579-1583
Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B (MEN 2B) is a human cancer syndro
me characterized by medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), pheochromocytom
as, mucosal neuromas, ganglioneuromas of the intestinal tract, and ske
letal and ophthalmic abnormalities. It appears both as an inherited di
sorder and as de novo disease. Sequence analysis of germ-line DNA from
MEN 2B patients revealed the existence of the same point mutation in
the RET protooncogene in 34 unrelated individuals. This sequence diffe
rence was not observed in 93 unaffected individuals, including the nor
mal parents of 14 de novo MEN 2B patients. The mutation (ATG --> ACG)
results in the replacement of methionine with threonine within the cat
alytic core region of the tyrosine kinase domain. We propose that this
amino acid replacement effects substrate interactions and results in
dominant oncogenic activity by the RET protein. Missense mutations in
the extracellular ligand-binding domain of the RET protooncogene previ
ously have been associated with two other disorders [MEN 2A and famili
al MTC (FMTC)] in which MTC is observed. MEN 2B represents the third f
orm of heritable MTC known to be an allele of RET. Alterations in two
different functional domains of the putative receptor protein tyrosine
kinase are implicated in development of MTC.