SCREENING FOR APC MUTATIONS BASED ON DETECTION OF TRUNCATED APC PROTEINS

Mutation of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene is frequently fo und in colorectal tumors from both familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP ) and non-FAP patients, Analysis of APC mutation is time-consuming and costly due to the large size of the APC gene, As the majority of APC mutations result in the truncation of gene products, the detection of truncated APC proteins may be used as a screening method for APC mutat ions. The aim of this study is to establish a practical method of dete cting truncated APC proteins for the screening of APC mutations. APC p roteins in human colorectal cancer cell lines were analyzed by western blotting. Truncated APC proteins were expressed in all of the colorec tal cancer cell lines studied, Two species of truncated APC proteins w ere expressed in two cell lines, Western blotting is a rapid, reliable screening method for APC mutations and provides information on both a lleles.