An Ava I polymorphism in the TP53 gene

TP53 gene plays a major role in the process of malignant transformation and tumour progression so that abnormalities such as point mutation or allelic loss of this gene are a common finding in different tumour types. Most of the mutations identified cover a conserved region of the gene, spanning fro m exon 4 to exon 9. The present report describes a novel polymorphism, 12 n ucleotides downstream the splicing junction of exon/intron 9 identified in a cohort of 103 Italian healthy blood donors. The polymorphism results in t he creation of a new restriction site for Ava I. (C) 1999 Academic Press.