MUTATIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE PTEN MMAC1 GENE IN NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMA/

The PTEN/MMAC1 gene at 10q23.3, which has dual specific phosphatase ac tivity, is a novel tumor suppressor gene candidate. Various kinds of t umors have mutations in this gene, including glioblastoma, endometrial carcinoma and prostate cancer. We examined 29 cases of primary non-Ho dgkin's lymphoma (NHL) for mutations in the PTEN/MMAC1 gene. One case of diffuse large B cell lymphoma had an 11 bp deletion, but the remain ing 28 cases showed no mutations in the genome. Two of these 28 cases showed missense mutations in the PTEN/MMAC1 transcripts, but no altera tions in the genomic DNA. These mRNA missense variants are similar to PTEN/MMAC1 transcript aberrations which have been reported in patients with breast cancer. These findings suggest that alterations in the PT EN/MMAC1 gene play a role in the pathogenesis of NHL.